I have an old lp the charles ford band they were a brothers group and their harp player was mark ford does anybody know what he is doing this album is 40 years old and he was pretty young then but not so young now
He still plays. Go to YouTube and type Mark Ford. You will see he still plays with his brothers a lot. Robbin Ford is the most successful. I have one of Marks solo albums that is pretty good.
I saw the Charles Ford Band at a little bar one time around 35 years ago. I'd been driving around the clock, I was so tired I started nodding out. The waitress told my friends that they would need to keep me awake or leave, and I was of course cut off. I hadn't even touched my first beer! They were great and even though I sat there in a stupor with my eyes closed, I was hearing the music. I'd never heard of them before, it was a little joint, maybe 50 people. Just a lucky stop somewhere between Mt Shasta and San Francisco, I don't remember exactly where we were.
They did a killer version of "Black Nights"
Charles was their dads's name, so they named the band in his honor.
Mark was 16 years old when they recorded that. He performed on several of Robben's albums and did some of his own. I am a big fan and was really influenced by him when I started to play harp. He has amazing tone, incredible technique, but most important he injects some VERY creative, unique melodic lines.
Here are a few albums worth checking out:
"Mark Ford and the Blue Line featuring Robben Ford" "Mark Ford with the Robben Ford Band"
One of the best is a Robben Ford album called "The Blues Collection" - Mark has some smokin' solos.
He does a great "Summertime" on a collection CD called "Got Harp If You Want it"
Brother Pat Ford is a drummer, and runs Blue Rock'it Records - see his complete discography here:
http://www.bluerockit.com/artists.shtml#markford
Mark is heavy into Zen Buddhism and doesn't play much any more. My understanding is that he is an EMT and rides around in an ambulance for his day job. He is absolutely one of the most gifted harp players - and a great writer. He is ---------- /Greg
I agree with Greg. I think Mark is Brilliant! With as mentioned: amazing tone and refreshing-coooool phrasing. He's also a really nice guy- boyishly enthusiastic about playing and has great tattoos. Finally there is something so pure about that version of Summertime that it has always been one of my 10 favorite harp songs. d ---------- Myspace: dennis moriarty
Slightly OT, but even though Mark doesn't play on this particular track, I LOVE Robben's version of Nina Simone's Don't Let me Be Misunderstood on Handful of Blues...just beautiful.
Mark's got a wicked amplified tone on there, most likely a stick mic thru a fairly clean amp or straight in, with either some board distortion or a pedal dialed in. I love his attack and note choices. He and Butterfield are two of my biggest influences. ---------- Todd L Greene. V.P.
Last Edited by on May 07, 2010 5:31 AM
