Ricky Ford / The Wailing Sounds of Ricky Ford: Paul’s Scene

Ricky Ford, tenor sax legend, needs no introduction, but he’ll get one anyway because it’s important tohear his lineage before diving into his new recording. After getting his startfilling the Paul Gonsalveschair in theDuke Ellington Orchestra (under Mercer Ellington’s leadership), Ford’s gone on to play withCharles Mingus, Lionel Hampton, and Abdullah Ibrahim, to name but a few of his more illustrious stints.He is, quite simply, a national treasure. His latest recording, a tip of the hat to his early roots andafocused, fabulous blast of multi-hued bebop and traditional jazz, reflects tremendous taste andvirtuosity, with nods to his heroes (Hawkins, Duke, Mingus, and others) and affirmation that the guy canstill play with the best of them. While he may not have the same public profile as our present-day tenorheroes, he deserves every ounce of respect that they get and more.The Wailing Sounds of Ricky Ford:Paul’s Scene, made with his accompanistspianistMark Soskin, bassistJerome Harris, and drummerBarryAltschul, is wondrous and his playing sounds as fresh today as it did decades back, when he was a true legend in the making.

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Ricky Ford/tenor saxophone

Mark Soskin/acoustic piano

Jerome Harris/acoustic bass

Barry Altschul/drums