Robben Ford Discussion

[guka]

Saw the last night of the Jazz Alley run in Seattle. Wow! Landau and Ford together are GREAT! I've seen Ford a few times before but never with another gtr player. Landau is fantastic he did a great array of organ & pedal/lap steel licks on gtr. Thoughts anyone....
Also Ford is quite the Dad if that table was indeed full ofwith all his sons;)

[yebdox]

Hey, I was there for both sets on saturday - I have probably seen Robben play 30 times in the last 25 years and he always amazes me. I especially have come to appreciate his comping - so clean, inventive, direct. Big contrast with Landau, who I also have admired for several years and have never heard live, before. Mike was obviously there in a supportive role, soloed about every 3rd tune and always was low in the mix, though they seemed to be controlling alot of their own volume from the stage. I loved it when Mike would crank, but even on stuff that featured him, it seemed like that CAE head never even really opened up. Mike's comping is equally as creative, but kind of sneaks up on you - a little chord slide with the whammy bar, lots of volume pedal swells, organ style chorusing.

Gary Novak is a great player, who I've only heard with Chick Corea before - very energetic, great time keeper. I still miss hearing Tommy Brechtlein, who is about as inventive as they come, but Novak has played with some heavy hitters (including Holdsworth) and deservedly so. Chris Chaney sounded really good, especially coming from an alt rock background.

Robben's ability to comp creatively behind his own singing, keeping the guitar under control and weaving in and out of rhythm and solo sections is always amazing. It would be enough to just be that good without worrying about getting the vocals right, but he sounds better than ever - his voice is much stronger than it was 20 years ago.

All in all, a great evening. I live in Spokane, so it's a 4 hour drive plus an overnight stay somewhere, but that's better than flying to LA. Jazz Alley is a great venue, good food, always a great calendar of musicians. I hope they continue to do well - my friend, Dave Stryker always looks forward to playing there, as the number of quality jazz clubs continues to dwindle. I think Robben must enjoy it up here enough to keep it an annual thing, and I know that they enjoy having him. I plan on going every chance I get, when he gets within 300 miles!