Robben has been playing for as long a I can remember. I think he grew up in Ukiah then into SF. Just another great musician out or northern cali. He's plays off and on with his brother. Great show to see. Yes, hes the long haired dude playing the tele. Great grooves. Probably more recent stuff has been Robben Ford with Blue Line. enjoy
Last Edited by on Nov 21, 2010 11:15 AM
Robben is regarded as one of the best guitar players alive. Check out http://www.bluerockit.com/home.shtml which is brother/drummer Pat Ford's record label - lots of good SF Bay Area artists there. The whole family is very musical. Mark is a big influence on me. Unfortunately he doesn't play much any more. The "Ford Brothers Blues Band" generally uses Andy Just on harp. ---------- /Greg
Just to underline what a reputation Robben had, and still has, as a jazz and blues guitarist here is a clip with him guesting alongside Carlos with Miles at an Amnesty concert.
What a band..phew can he keep up when he gets the nod??
Last Edited by on Nov 21, 2010 11:49 AM
About four years ago, I had the opportunity to interview Mark and Robben over dinner for a newspaper story. The brothers were on a European tour at the time. At the time, Mark said he was hardly playing and was working a day job in northern California as an EMT. It'd be a hell of a shame if he's not letting his light shine by playing harp when he's so blessed with talent.
The one purely harp-technique-related point that I took away from our conversation was that he said he plays EVERYTHING tongue blocked, top of the harp to the bottom.
BTW, those guys and their brother Pat and the other members of the band were all super cool guys, and very nice to hang out with.
If you like Robben and Mark together, check this album out, which was released in the mid-90s. It's a RF album, but has some very sweet harp by Mark on it.
Slightly OT, and no harp content, but Robben's version of the Nina Simone tune(also done by The Animals)Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood is just beautiful. ----------
Todd L. Greene, Codger-in-training
Last Edited by on Nov 22, 2010 9:06 AM
