Broad Strokes

Robben Ford goes bold with Pure, the new instrumental outing he calls “the most complete expression of a musical life.”

- By Michael Ross

THOUGH HE’S A talented singer and songwriter, Robben Ford has nevertheless become a legend primarily for his prodigious guitar prowess. In addition to the fabulous fretwork on his own records, he is known for turning in stunning, lyrical solos on recordings featuring Jimmy Witherspoon, Michael McDonald, Miles Davis, the Yellowjackets, the L.A. Express, and even Bruce Willis and Kiss.

“From a very early age, I was drawn to beautiful melodies,” he says. “Eric Clapton is a melody player, as is Hendrix. They were not playing bebop. It was about feeling, sound and texture. Those were things I was attracted to: the sound of this note against that chord, as opposed to a lot of notes.”

Given the enthusiasm for Ford’s guitar playing, it’s remarkable that almost a quarter of a century has passed since he released an all-instrumental record under his own name. There have been vocal-less side projects with former Miles Davis group saxophonist Bill Evans, and a series of trio projects with drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and bassist Jimmy Haslip under the Jing Chi moniker, but Ford’s last instrumental solo record was 1997’s Tiger Walk.

In the interim, the guitarist, known as a master of tone, taste and time, has been honing his skills as a singer and songwriter on two decade’s worth of releases. These have largely followed a tried-and-true process: Gather a fantastic rhythm section of bass, drums and keyboards, go into a world-class studio, and knock out the new batch of tunes as live as possible. Occasional variations might include adding a trombonist (as on 2013’s