Ricky Ford, tenor saxophone; Bob Neloms, piano; Richard Davis, bass; Dannie Richmond, drums; Oliver Beener and Charles Sullivan, trumpets; James Spaulding, alto saxophone; Janice Robinson, trombone; Jonathan Dorn, tuba
From 1977, seven tunes, five of them by Ricky Ford, the then 23-year-old tenor saxophonist and member of the Charles Mingus band and leader of the session. Accompanied by bassist extraordinaire Richard Davis and the great Dannie Richmond, Ford leads the band through mostly hard-swinging, straight-ahead compositions steeped in the jazz tradition but speaking a contemporary language -- a result of the distinctly audible influence of Mingus. Great compositions and strong improvising from the soloists. Liner notes by renowned composer and jazz historian Gunther Schuller.
