Ricky Ford Quartet
John Coltrane 100th Birthday Celebration

Ricky Ford - tenor saxophone
John Kordalewski - piano
Tony Marino - contrabass
Thurman Barker - drums

Hallwalls is excited to celebrate the 100th Birthday of one of the most influential saxophonist/composers of the 20th century, John Coltrane, with a special tribute concert featuring legendary American saxophonist Ricky Ford. As a bandleader, sought-after sideman, prolific composer, teacher, and an accomplished painter, the master musician is part of a direct lineage of great American tenor saxophonists and has been exploring many different aspects of art throughout his astounding career.

Born on March 4th 1954, he was already training at the New England Conservatory of Music in 1968. He studied under Gunther Schuller, Ran Blake, Jaki Byard, George Russell, Joe Allard and Joseph Maneri before Mercer Ellington invited him to join the Duke Ellington Orchestra, just a few months after the passing of Duke Ellington and Paul Gonsalves. Then he went on to work with Charles Mingus (1976-1977), Dannie Richmond (1978-1981), Lionel Hampton (1980-1982), Abdullah Ibrahim (1983-1990), Mal Waldron (1989-1994), not forgetting the many recording sessions with Yusef Lateef, Sonny Stitt, McCoy Tyner, Freddie Hubbard, Amina Claudine Myers, Sathima Bea Benjamin, and Steve Lacy, to just name a few. As a comprehensive musician, Ford has always strived to master different musical genres, from swing to hard bop to free, and recently focusing on the work of Turkish poet and musician Neyzen Tevfik.

As a leader, Ricky Ford has recorded 21 albums and authored a vast repertoire of originals. The musician has proved to have sharp knowledge and is continually looking for new forms of expression. Ford is also a unique arranger and conductor. From 1985 to 1996 he led Brandeis University\'s big band, arranging the works of composers whose music had never been played by big bands. When he settled in Paris in the 1990s, he created another big band before moving to Turkey to teach at the Istanbul Bilgi University (2000-2006). Ricky Ford has been working with Ze Big Band, conducted by Fred Burgazzi, with who he has recorded two beautiful albums, 7095 (2009) and Sacred Concert (2013). Ford and Ze Big Band created Sketches of Brittany at the Jazz Festival of Vitré, in Brittany. In 2022 Ford, now 68, burst out with a strong new album, The Wailing Sounds of Ricky Ford: Paul\'s Scene (Whaling City Sound), his first recording in almost a decade. For those who need to be reminded of Ford's playing strength and musical imagination, a listen to this music will jog the memory. Ford never ceases to create music of the highest caliber.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDI19zX2JVc

John Kordalewski is the leader, arranger and pianist for the Makanda Project, a 13-piece group performing previously unrecorded Makanda Ken McIntyre compositions. He has performed with musicians such as Charlie Rouse, Cab Calloway, Julius Hemphill, Odean Pope, Ricky Ford, Carl Grubbs, Webster Young, Byard Lancaster and Oliver Lake. For many years, he led a trio featuring Boston drummer Bobby Ward. He has conducted clinics and workshops at many colleges and universities, most recently at the University of KwaZulu Natal in Durban, South Africa, where his arrangements of compositions by pianist Ndikho Xaba and trumpeter Feya Faku have been performed. He is also currently collaborating with saxophonist Chico Freeman, writing first-ever big band arrangements of Freeman's compositions.

Bassist Tony Marino studied guitar before switching to acoustic and electric bass in high school to participate in the music curriculum. He began his professional music career as the house bass player at clubs and resorts in the Pocono and Catskill Mountains accompanying a myriad of well-known entertainers. Tony has played with such greats as the late Al Cohn & Zoot Sims, Mose Allison, Phil Woods, Hal Galper, Urbie Green and John Coates Jr. He has collaborated with Ellery Eskelin, Jim Black and Liebman as "Different But The Same." Tony can also be heard on several "Deer Head Records" releases with Bill Goodwin, Joe Locke and Clarice Assad. His talents have been heard on recordings with Dave Liebman, Bob Dorough, Phil Woods, George Young, Jamey Haddad, Vic Juris, Phil Markowitz, and countless others.Tony is also a new member of the New York String trio with James Emery and Rob Thomas. He performs regularly with Broadway star Betty Buckley and jazz pianist Christian Jacob as well as performing and recording. He values his 30 year musical trip with David Liebman, recording and touring internationally with Dave Liebman's Groups and currently with "Expansions" and Liebman's Big Band. His versatility and wide range of musicality has afforded him opportunities to accompany and record with numerous artists from folk to pop to jazz.

Growing up in Chicago in the 1950s, Thurman Barker was exposed to the city's rich musical heritage, regularly hearing R&B, doo-wop, soul, jazz, and blues. Accordingly, he began his professional career at age 17 by anchoring the rhythm section for blues legend Mighty Joe Young. He then attended the American Conservatory of Music and later Roosevelt University. A versatile drummer and percussionist, he also performed with singers Billy Eckstine, Marvin Gaye, Bette Midler, and Vicki Carr, and worked with classical groups like the Chicago Chamber Players and the New York City Opera. Perhaps Barker's most notable musical experience has been with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), an organization founded in the 1960s to promote innovative music and its players. A charter member of the group, Barker first appeared in AACM productions with Joseph Jarman's pioneering ensemble. He then went on to play with many other members, including Muhal Richard Abrams, Amina Claudine Meyers, Anthony Braxton, Leroy Jenkins, Roscoe Mitchell, and Henry Threadgill. In the 1970s and '80s, after moving to New York, Barker worked with jazz giants Cecil Taylor, Sam Rivers and Billy Bang, touring with their groups and recording numerous albums with them. Most recently, he has performed with trombonist and composer George Lewis at the Festival International Musique Actuelle in Victoriaville, Quebec. Barker has taught jazz history and performance at Bard College since 1993 and was appointed professor of jazz studies in June 2016.

Hallwalls Music Program is made possible through public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and a generous grant from the Cullen Foundation https://www.thecullenfoundation.org/