Robben Ford - Soul On Ten (2009)

While he's largely lived in the blues world for much of his career, guitarist Robben Ford has always been defined by a jazz sensibility. Sure, there's the grease and grit of overdriven, wah-wah'd electric guitar and a strong, rock-hard backbeat; but Ford's language since Robben Ford and the Blue Line (Stretch, 1992) has been a compelling combination of visceral blues bends and more evolved harmony. It's no surprise that he's been the go-to guitarist for everyone from Miles Davis and Charlie Haden to Keb' Mo' and John Mayall. Soul on Ten isn't Ford's first live album but it's a hot one, covering some of his best material from the past decade, hitting hard on a couple of blues standards from Willie Dixon, Elmore James, and Jimmy Reed, and introducing a couple of new originals into the repertoire. By~John Kelman