You probably don't want to call Ken Ford a jazz violinist.
He rejects any attempt to box him into that genre.
"When people don't hear vocals they want to say it's jazz," he said. "They don't want to say it's R&B or hip-hop."
In fact, when Ford picks up his violin, he might well break into a hip-hop version of "Summertime."
"If I do play a Coltrane record, it's going to be funked up," said Ford, who recently released his fourth studio CD, "State of Mind" on the Twelve Music Group label.
It's not that he has a problem with jazz.
"I play everything," he said. "If I go to Churchill Grounds [Jazz Cafe], I'm going to be swinging. If I go to Cafe 290, it's going to be contemporary. If I do a show at the Fox Theatre, I'm going to be doing everything. If Miles [Davis] were around right now, he would be playing whatever is going on at the time. Whatever is cool."
On his new CD, Ford, 42, is trying to expand his audience. He's trying to reach out more to the mainstream by putting on a edgy sound on the violin, which is usually considered a classical instrument. The CD includes five new tracks and two fan favorites, "Strung Out" and "Moments in Love," both from his 2009 CD, "Right Now."
Ford, who's performed with Bruno Mars and Ledisi and has opened for Chaka Khan, will perform Saturday at the Buckhead Theatre.
He talked with the AJC this week about his music.
Q: "State of Mind" is your fourth CD project. What can listeners expect to hear?
A: I took the traditional violin and I put an edge on it, pretty much. It's almost like a crossover into a commercial audience. I do the music that people love. I realized in my previous CDs that I was always thinking about what will be good on the radio. This time I let go, and said I'm going to give people what they hear at my live shows. On "State of Mind" there was also a team involved, too, which made it incredible. Everybody had their own expertise from writers to arrangers to engineers. This can win a Grammy.
Q: Oh, so this is a prediction?
A: Yeah, [laughs] I'm claiming this right now. This is going to be the best jazz album of the year. They had me in the studio doing stuff I have never done with the violin, like beating it with the back of the bow. ... They even had an audience in the studio to give it that live feel.
Q: What else is on your to-do list?
A: I want to create a Ken Ford School of Music right here in Atlanta. The purpose is to keep music in the schools. I go around to different schools doing workshops. I want to keep making the violin fun. ... We're on a mission to define music as a sport. We want to give it the recognition that sports get. ... That's the reason music education gets dropped. They don't realize how important music is to academics. I had a conversation with the principal of the school of arts. I asked why are they dropping this strings program and he said, "Well, kids just aren't interested in that." How do you make music cool? I will go in and play some hip-hop on the violin. Kirk Franklin did it with gospel. He brought in the young people. ... Sometimes you have to restart and stay fresh.
Q: Many people don't associate the violin with jazz. Why did you choose that instrument?
A: Back in the days of Thelonius Monk and Miles Davis there were jazz violinists. There just weren't many of them. There were plenty of saxophonists, plenty of trumpeters, plenty of drummers. The jazz violinist is nothing new. As time went on, people started showing up like Noel Pointer, Jean Luc Ponty and Regina Carter.
Q: Who would you like to work with?
A: I would love to work with Stevie Wonder. I would love to work with Herbie Hancock. Just to be on stage with either one of them. Or just to be on stage with Beyonce...
Q: Beyonce?
A: See, there you go. Stop putting me in that jazz category. I'm a violinist. I just don't stand there and play with the violin. I'm doing the same things you would see Beyonce doing. I'm wireless. I've got a full band going on behind me. You're saying you can see me with Stevie Wonder. That makes sense. You can see me with Herbie Hancock. That makes sense. Well, being with Beyonce makes sense, too.
Event preview
Ken Ford with special guest. 9 p.m. Saturday. $27.50 to $37.50 in advance, $37.50 to $47.50 at the door. Buckhead Theatre, 3110 Roswell Road. 404-843-2825. http://www.ticketalternative.com/Events/14633.aspx.
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