I got bored with Miles Davis

by Andrew Daly
Guitar World
December 8, 2025

Ford on two moments when Joni Mitchell was right and he was wrong, why his late 80s stint with Davis didn't work out and his go-to Dumble alternative

Along with having released nearly 30 solo records, Robben Ford has played with everyone from Joni Mitchell to Kiss to Miles Davis. He's 74, but he's not done yet - he's just moved to London and is preparing to release another album, Two Shades of Blue, in 2026.

"What keeps me going is that I love to play music," he tells Guitar World. "I love the whole experience: playing with people whose playing you like, and having an audience out there."

For his upcoming release the maverick nomad explored territory previously claimed by Jeff Beck. "If I was going to do another album, I didn't wanna do the same thing," Ford says. "Deciding on a tribute meant I needed to bring myself to do it justice. It gave me a new lease on guitar playing, in a way. I've appreciated this little journey."

Was Jeff Beck a significant influence on you?

Not in the beginning. Like everyone else I had the Truth album and I loved that - but that's a long time ago. I was more inspired by Mike Bloomfield, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. As the years progressed I got more into jazz, Miles Davis and John Coltrane.

So Jeff wasn't really on my radar. I saw him play live for the first time in about 2008, and it was the best guitar concert I've ever been to. I started listening to him - but not a ton, because his style is so personal to him, and you sound like who you listen to.

I've never listened to any players for extended periods of time because it's a big mistake. That's how I feel about it. But I got to hear him play a few more times, and I came to think of him as the outstanding living guitar player of our time. Then he passed away, and it lit me up to tribute him in some way; and it was a way for me to go somewhere with the guitar that I hadn't gone before.

What's it been like playing a Strat, which you're not known for?

I played a Strat a little in the '80s; I used it when I was in more of a supportive role when I toured with David Sanborn and in the time I spent with Miles Davis. The vibrato was on the guitar, but I was rarely using it - just a bit here and there. I'm more of a straight-ahead kind of player; I went back to the humbucking style of guitar.

So revisiting the Strat has really been a blast! I didn't own a Strat. I'm living in London now and I had a relationship with Anderton's, so I went there and found one, a '66 reissue from the Fender Custom Shop.

How has the Strat altered the way you play?

It's very specific. I used it on the music that was written for and inspired by Jeff Beck. It has its own function; the vibrato really makes a big difference. The Strat has an entirely different feel from the guitars I normally use.

I'm still learning - the use of harmonics, the use of the vibrato, the use of the sounds. It takes a while to get good at these things. But I'm really pleased with what people are gonna hear.

What amps are you going with?

Always tube amps. The last few years, if I'm not able to take the Dumble with me I've been using a Little Walter. I met the guy who makes those, Phil Bradbury, through Vince Gill, because Vince was using them. We had to find the right speaker configuration - Phil's really into that. So I have what's called The '59: a 50-watt head with a 2x12 cabinet. And I also have a 100-watt.

Listeners aren't always keen on new music from elder artists.

Yeah, I know. We all have to just give up on that and do it for ourselves - and I don't wanna play somebody else's music. I wanna play my own. I've been writing music since I was 17; and I don't mean with any great result, necessarily, although over time it does get better. If you wanna play something, you gotta write something.

You could have joined other bands, but you do what speaks to you. Do you know what drives that?

There's always something about working for other people where I get bored. I would get bored within a matter of weeks - though with Joni Mitchell I was never bored. But that was a long time ago. David Sanborn was fun. But I got bored with Miles Davis; he started tightening up the music, and we stopped playing a lot of the things that were fun to play.

He was like, "Robben, play that shit just like the record," and we'd be doing more and more of the Tutu record, and less improvisation. It was just playing the parts, and I didn't join Miles Davis to do that.

I always wanna be playing something for real. I wanna love it and be able to feel that I'm giving it 100%. But working for other people, it's usually about them, you know? When you really feel it's about them, you're just a cog, just punching a time clock.

I've always needed to feel like there was room to move and that we were all in it together. So I kinda have to have my own band, and I try to be the bandleader that they deserve.

Why do you think you were never bored with Joni?

She's just the ultimate creative artist. She was lovely to work for and the musicians around her were all great - especially on the first tour, which resulted in the Miles of Aisles album. It was just a constant joy. She was just one of the guys and behaved that way; that never changed.

She loved working with the people, and we had that feeling where we were all in it together. And of course, her next record was The Hissing of Summer Lawns, which is like frigging Sgt. Pepper's, you know? It's just a work of genius.

What gear did you bring into the studio with you for The Hissing of Summer Lawns?

I did In France They Kiss on Main Street, Don't Interrupt the Sorrow, and Harry's House/Centerpiece. But it's hard for me to talk about a rig because I didn't have one! I was probably playing through a Fender Twin, which is ridiculous in a recording studio because they're so loud.

Or maybe it was something rented from SIR, which is very possible. I probably had a little pedalboard with a tuner, a phase shifter and a fuzztone. I was not hip in those days! It wasn't quite as big of a deal in those days, but it became a big deal for sure. It was more about the playing than the pedals - and thank goodness for that because I was not into the pedal thing!

But I'll tell you one thing that exemplifies what it was like to work with Joni. We used the volume pedal a lot in those days, but she said, "How about you just plug into a fuzztone then plug directly into the console, and we'll see what that sounds like?"

I was like, "Oh, Joni, that's gonna be terrible! We need an amp." She said "Would you just try it?" Begrudgingly, I tried it - and that turned out to be the guitar on In France They Kiss on Main Street. It's different and cool, and it made me play a different way. Joni was creative, and never in a hurry.

I had a similar experience when she was doing Don Juan's Reckless Daughter. We were in the studio, and she was doing what she considered "source music" that was going to be in the background of something - like a cinematic happening in the foreground; but it never came to fruition.

We recorded this blues that was like John Lee Hooker, a slow, one-key, funky thing. I was playing acoustic guitar and she goes, "Robben, could you tune down to the key that we're in, so you have all those open strings?" I was like, "That's gonna sound terrible, Joni..."

She said "Would you just try it?" I had to tune a regular six-string Martin guitar down to C with just .12s on it. The strings were practically hanging off the guitar, but it was cool! I wish that had been on the record or heard somehow; but once again, working with her was like that. It was really special, man.

People have grown to love Summer Lawns, but critics were harsh at the time. Did you know you had a winner despite that?

I had no idea what critics thought - I never looked! I was just grateful for having been a part of it. I mean, I can tell you, with a light touch, that the tour was not so great; The concerts maybe weren't received as well that first year.

Was that a reaction to the subject matter of the record?

I think it was. Joni was going through a rough patch emotionally; and that music, a lot of it was pretty dark. People were a little surprised that it wasn't that lovely, light, bright, and wonderful Joni Mitchell thing. guess I was aware of that; the whole vibe overall was not really great. The '70s were a rough period - on the road, people were misbehaving, shall we say, quite a lot!

Where do you go from here?

The new record, Two Shades of Blue, will come out in 2026 through Mascot. And since I've been living in London for about two and a half years, I've met so many great musicians. The reception I've gotten here has been fantastic, and that helps to keep you musically frisky!

So there's new people to play with who are really good, and it's just great. London has been really marvelous on the music side for me, though it's hard to find a guitar tech - I don't have that dialed in.