GUITAR LEGEND ROBBEN FORD’S NEW ALBUM INTO THE SUN
CAPTURES HIS CONTEMPORARY SONGWRITING
MASTERY
To Be Released
Via Mascot Label Group On March 31st
Guest
Appearances By Blues Icon Keb’ Mo’, Vocalist ZZ Ward,
And Fellow
Guitar Heroes Warren Haynes, Sonny Landreth,
Robert Randolph
and Tyler Bryant
February 5, 2015 - Guitar virtuoso Robben Ford’s forthcoming
new album Into The Sun (Mascot Label Group) shines a bright light on his
artful, contemporary songwriting and the stunning playing that’s made him a
favorite foil of Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, George Harrison and other
legends.
The five-time Grammy nominee describes the 11-song set as
“one of the top recordings I’ve ever done” — a staggering observation
considering his extensive discography, which embraces more than 35 albums under
his own name and with his various bands. There’s also Ford’s session and sideman
work, which includes hundreds of concert appearances and albums by Bonnie Raitt,
Barbara Streisand, Charlie Musselwhite, KISS, Ruthie Foster, Jimmy Witherspoon
and Rickie Lee Jones.
Into The Sun, which follows last year’s critically
acclaimed A Day In Nashville and 2013’s Bringing It Back Home,
explores the breadth of Ford’s sophisticated, visionary writing and playing,
creating a new chapter in his brilliant musical history. The album features a
coterie of guests: Allman Brothers guitarist and Gov’t Mule frontman Warren
Haynes on “High Heels And Throwing Things,” slide guitar guru Sonny Landreth on
“So Long 4 U,” Americana and blues icon Keb’ Mo’ and pedal steel wizard Robert
Randolph on “Justified,” vocal sensation ZZ Ward on “Breath Of Me," and along
with gritty Southern rock newcomer Tyler Bryant on “Stone Cold Heaven.” Niko
Bolas, whose credits include Neil Young, John Mayer and Keith Richards,
engineered.
“The album is really upbeat,” Ford relates. “It has a
positive vibe to it — a good time feel. There are a lot of different rhythms and
colors and the way the instruments are used is really different on this. It
makes me very happy to have something so diverse.”
Although Ford’s recent releases have been hailed as returns
to his musical roots — which go back to his discovery of blues as a teenager in
the 1960s – Into The Sun is a clear departure, using tradition as a
springboard to incorporate his timeless vocabulary of jazz, pop, blues and rock
into a modern framework for his poetic lyrics and the most graceful, emotionally
nuanced and melodic vocal performances of his career.
“This album is obviously of these times,” Ford says. “And the
rule during the recording process was to have no lid on things. I’ve worked very
hard to master my craft as a musician and a songwriter, but other than relying
on my strengths in those areas, I made sure there was room for new ideas and
everything my collaborators brought to the music. When you’re open to different
concepts and approaches, the most beautiful things can happen.”
All of the music and most of the lyrics from Into The Sun
came directly from Ford, but he also collaborated with ZZ Ward on “Breath Of
Me” and enlisted the enigmatic Kyle Swan, whose own recordings liberally mix
images and styles to build articulate modernist-pop tone poems. That quality
reverberates in the four songs Ford co-wrote with Swan, married to the guitar
giant’s own deep commitment to narrative. “Working with Kyle was part of my
desire to toss up everything and see what might happen, to get a fresh
perspective,” says Ford.
“Justified” is a sheer gas with Keb’ Mo’ and Ford trading
tongue-in-cheek vocal lines as Randolph adds soaring pedal steel punctuation
over Jim Cox’s purposefully wobbly honky tonk piano.
Into The Sun was recorded by Bolas, a collaborator of
Ford’s since his all-instrumental 1997 album Tiger Walk. “Niko is simply
the best tracking engineer I’ve ever encountered,” says Ford. “He gets great
sounds instantly.” All the better to capture Ford’s glorious guitar tones, this
time derived from four of his go-to instruments: a pair of Gibson SG’s from 1963
and 1964, his beloved 1960 Telecaster and his Gibson B-25 acoustic. As he’s done
on every album he’s made since 1983, Ford used a Dumble Overdrive Special
amplifier.
“For me,” Ford says, “it’s all about the art. If you work
hard at something you’re going to get better. I honestly think I reached a point
with my writing on Into The Sun where I could just go with the flow and
bring some of the best songs I’ve ever created to life.”
Ford already has an impressive number of shows lined up to
support the album, both in America and overseas. In addition to a lengthy list
of tour dates, another notable upcoming appearance will be Robben Ford’s
Traveling Dojo Guitar Camp at the elegantly rustic Full Moon Resort in Big
Indian, NY in the Catskill Forest Preserve (about 30 miles west of Woodstock)
from August 31-September 4, 2015. Ford will host guitar enthusiasts and
guitarists of all skill levels for this once in a lifetime
opportunity.
In addition to his robust profile as a world-class musician,
Ford is a highly sought-after educator with a series of acclaimed and
groundbreaking interactive videos presented on a variety of formats including
disks, downloads and mobile apps. This Traveling Dojo Guitar Camp will include
master classes, one-on-one sessions, landmark live performances with sit-in
opportunities, and all-inclusive meal options and lodging accommodations. Ford
will be joined by special guest guitar virtuoso John Jorgenson; as well as
Ford’s ace rhythm section (Brian Allen on bass and Wes Little on drums), who
will conduct master classes on groove, time, and pocket; and Ford’s friend and
trusted guitar tech, Rick Wheeler, a jazz virtuoso, will also conduct sessions
on jazz guitar. One of the most thrilling aspects of the Traveling Dojo Guitar
Camp will be hearing these complimentary talents make music together. A 10%
discount off camp registrations is available through February 14. To get more
details on the camp and/or to register, visit: http://www.robbenfordguitarcamp.com/
ROBBEN FORD - INTO THE SUN Track
Listing
1. Rose Of Sharon
2. Day Of The Planets
3. Howlin’ At The Moon
4. Rainbow Cover
5. Justified (with Keb’ Mo’ & Robert
Randolph)
6. Breath Of Me (with ZZ Ward)
7. High Heels And Throwing Things (with Warren
Haynes)
8. Cause Of War
9. So Long 4 U (with Sonny Landreth)
10. Same Train
11. Stone Cold Heaven (with Tyler
Bryant)
ROBBEN FORD - INTO THE SUN EPK:
ROBBEN FORD – TOUR DATES
Feb. 17-21 - Miami, FL / Key West, FL / Nassau, Bahamas -
Keeping The Blues Alive Cruise
Feb. 22 - Clearwater, FL - Clearwater Sea Blues Festival -
Coachman Park
March 13 - Aschaffenburg, Germany - Stadttheater (with
hr-Bigband)
March 14 - Rüsselsheim, Germany - Theater (with
hr-Bigband)
ROBBEN FORD – INTO THE SUN - 2015 TOUR
DATES
April 10 - Ft. Worth, TX - Main St. Fort Worth Arts
Festival
April 11 - Oklahoma City, OK - Academy of Contemporary
Music
April 12 - Kansas City, MO - Knuckleheads
Saloon
April 14 - Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural
Center
April 15 - Milwaukee, WI - Shank Hall
April 16 - Evanston, IL - SPACE
April 17 - Columbus, OH - Woodlands Park Street
Saloon
April 18 - Pittsburgh, PA - Rex Theater
April 19 - Sellersville, PA - Sellersville
Theater
April 21 - Syracuse, NY - Wescott Theatre
April 22 - Londonderry, NH - Tupelo Music Hall
April 23 - Fall River, MA - Narrow Center For The
Arts
April 24 - Beacon, NY - Towne Crier
April 25 - Norfolk, VA - Infinity Hall
April 26 - New York, NY - City Winery
April 29 - London, England - O2 Academy
Islington
April 30 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - North Sea Jazz
Club
May 1 - Breda, Netherlands - Mezz Concerts &
Dance
May 2 - Groningen, Netherlands - Rhythm n Blues
Night
May 5 - Leuven, Belgium - Het Depot
May 8 - Karlsruhe, Germany - Tollhaus
May 9 - Hamburg, Germany - Fabrik
May 10 - Cologne, Germany - Kantine
May 12 - Munich, Germany - Technikum
May 18 - Zvecan, Kosovo - North City Jazz and Blues
Festival
Kosovska Mitrovica - Cultural Centre
“Trepca"
May 20 - Zurich, Switzerland - Kaufleuten
Festival
May 30 & 31 - Oakland, CA - Yoshi’s at Jack London
Square
June 2 - Portland, OR - Aladdin Theatre
June 3 - Seattle, WA - The Triple Door
June 26 - Carpentras, France - Auzon Le Blues
Additional dates to be announced soon…
No comments:
Post a Comment