ERIC FORD
ERIC FORD
PROFESSIONAL DRUMMER / PERCUSSIONIST
F E A T U R E D R E V I E W S
" ...strong and creative"
Julian Joseph, Jazz Line-Up, BBC Radio 3
"...exquisitely subtle drumming, superbly delicate here and throughout the album.''
Roger Farbey, All About Jazz
" Ford excels on drums throughout - bold, crisp, creative,in total command of a seemingly endless range of techniques.''
Eddie Myer, jazzviews.net
"Ford's hi-hat snaps and fills, and the precision with which he plays complex patterns...are constantly striking features of this engaging debut.''
John Fordham, The Guardian
EVENTS
May 5th :
Highams Park Jazz Club (London E4 9PB) with Jim Mullen, Soner Ersen, Jason Simpson. 5-8pm (incl. jam session).
April 21st :
William Loveless Hall, 85 Wivenhoe High St., Colchester, Essex with Zoe Schwarz' Blue Commotion feat. Rob Koral and Pete Whittaker. 7:30pm
N E W S
Hello and welcome.
I'm pleased to say I have some good gigs this spring, if you can be tempted out to any of them.
I've the privilege of depping for Paul Robinson (drummer with Nina Simone for the last 19 years of her life) with Zoe Schwarz' Blue Commotion in Colchester on April 21st. On May 5th I'm with guitar legend Jim Mullen in north London ; on May 12th I'll be live on Jazz FM with Imogen Ryall. (Ruth Fisher's Jazz Brunch, at the Watford Jazz Junction festival.) Another one you could stay in bed for (!) is the Adam Dyer Quartet's live stream from St. Mary's Church in Ealing at 2pm on May 23rd, although of course we'd love to see you there! And on May 31st there's the first of 3 gigs depping with Clare Teal, this one with a septet featuring Jason Rebello and Freddie Gavita at Salisbury International Arts Festival.
I've released a couple of albums on Bandcamp! (With much assistance from David Beebee and my very patient brother-in-law, Ali.) They're both other people's projects that I was involved in and both recorded at David's Beeboss Studios. From 2018 comes "What Can I Do" (without a question mark), the only album of pianist Paolo Losi's own compositions. Paolo died suddenly within 6 months of recording aged just 46, so bassist Dave Jones and I wanted to share this music in remembrance of him. There's a written tribute by our mutual friend Paolo Muraro, too. Please check it out HERE.
The other album is by a short-lived trio of trumpet / double bass / drums that I enjoyed very much and which contrasts markedly with the Paolo release. It's with a couple of my Polish friends (Jakub Cywinski and Dawyd Frydryk) recorded in July 2019. You can give that a listen HERE.
There's more detail on many other albums I've had the good fortune to play on in the "Albums" section.
Imogen Ryall's re-imagining of Joni Mitchell's "Mingus" album was officially released in late September on the Rubicon Jazz label and made it onto the "best albums of 2023" lists of several critics in the UK and US. We're playing at Watford Junction Jazz Festival on May 12th and at Cambridge Jazz Festival in November, with more dates pending.
I'm delighted that another of Imogen's projects will be touring the Czech Republic (and dipping into Slovakia) for a week in October to coincide with the release of the album we recorded last May with pianist Emil Viklicky. There'll be more on that nearer the time.
I'm in a book ! David Harvey - father of cool cat bassist Jon Harvey - photographed 90 musicians in London and interviewed some of them, including me. It's called "The Look Of Jazz" and provides an interesting snapshot (sorry) of a part of the London scene around now and the opinions and backgrounds of some of those in it.