Robben Ford Discussion

[Bill Morgan]

I went to see two Jing Chi shows in Yokohama on the 27th. I was very fortunate to be able to spend quite a bit of time talking with Daved, which in some ways is more enjoyable than the shows. It's rare to find someone as kind hearted and generous as Daved is, especially in the music biz where egos tend to dominate. So first of a big thanks to Daved.

The shows were a great treat. Robben's new Les Paul sounded very good, very fat and warm. He used the bridge pickup exclusively, with the tone controls on the Dumble set to roll off some top (the tone control settings were roughly 10, 11 and 12 o'clock). With those settings, I thought the Tele sounded better too, as that guitar can sometimes be a bit too bright to my old ears.

The selection of tunes was mostly from the first two CD's, with a couple of tunes from the upcoming CD, to be called Jing Chi 3D. The first set was a little rough (I think they were all tired from having played the week before at the Blue Note in Tokyo), but the second set was hot. There isn't really anything I can say about Robben's playing that hasn't been said a million times before. He never ceases to amaze. If I had to pick a high point of the evening, it would have to be MD Blues. I love that tune.

And for Elizabeth, Robben wore two different shirts, the first one being a kind of light plum color (? sorry, I'm not good with colors) with some and the second one being a black, sparkly thing. Both long sleeve with the right sleeve rolled up. His pants were somewhat baggy, black jeans. And, most important, he wore plain, black boots.

Bill

[elizabeth]