And all that jazz

FIVETIME Grammy Award nominee and guitar great Robben Ford was in Dunedin yesterday, showing budding jazz musicians some of the licks and tricks that have made him a standout in his profession.

The American blues, jazz and rock guitarist and vocalist was a member of LA Express and has collaborated with stars including Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, George Harrison, Larry Carlton and Kiss.

The 66yearold appears on Musician magazine’s list of the ‘‘100 greatest guitarists of the 20th century’’.

Ford performed with the Rodger Fox Big Band and American rock/soul/jazz singer Lydia Pense at the Mayfair Theatre last night, as part of the band’s Jazz on the Road series of oneday workshops and concerts.

The event gave about 60 Otago secondary school jazz musicians an opportunity to hear him and the band play live, as well as participate in workshops with band members to learn about jazz rhythms, jazz articulation, performance within the band, jazz improvisation, music theory, team building through music, leadership and performance.

Ford said it was important to share his playing and inspire the next generation of jazz musicians, the same way he was inspired by watching his forebears.

‘‘It’s very important to inspire the next generation. Young people have to be serious about music if they are going to excel.

‘‘I think those people will naturally find inspiration — they go looking for it man, you don’t wait for it to come to you.

‘‘If you’re around people who can impart any kind of knowledge or wisdom to you, it accelerates the process.

‘‘I’ve been very fortunate. I had a lot of breaks early in my career, where I was being invited to play with people who were far more evolved than I was, and that is priceless to a young musician.’’

Ford praised Rodger Fox for keeping jazz music ‘‘in the ears of the public’’ for so many years, and for educating and giving young people opportunities to learn and perform.

‘‘I would like to be a part of the future of the project. So I do expect to be coming back and doing more work with him.’’

PHOTO: LINDA ROBERTSON Master at work . . . American blues, jazz and rock guitarist and vocalist Robben Ford plays with the Rodger Fox Big Band at the Mayfair Theatre last night.

PHOTO: GERARD O’BRIEN Teaching the trade . . . Rodger Fox Big Band saxophonists Bryn Van Vliet (foreground) and fellow band members (from left) Andrew Donaldson, Oscar Laven and Eilish Wilson give a masterclass for Otago secondary school jazz musicians.