Jimmy Ford Drums Up Ghosts of Swing’s Past

When the 17-piece Big Band Staff jumped into the percussion solo of “Sing, Sing, Sing” on a recent Monday at Steamers Cafe, drummer Jimmy Ford began to call up ghosts. Shades of Gene Krupa, Sonny Greer, Jo Jones and Buddy Rich were heard as Ford, who now lives in Orange County, pounded out rhythms on his tom-toms, moved to his high-hat cymbal, then roared away on his entire kit.

That Ford is only 32, by far the youngest member of the band and much too young to have heard Greer beating out jungle rhythms with the Duke Ellington band, made his performance even more impressive. As the engine that drives the Big Band Staff, as well as the Jazz Lite Octette, which plays Steamers on alternate Mondays, Ford is making a strong statement: Swing knows no generational boundaries.

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Led by saxophonist Ken Dahleen, the Big Band Staff is an ambitious ensemble willing to take on a wide range of sometimes difficult material. Comparisons to locally based professional bands such as Bill Holman’s Orchestra or Roger Neumann’s Rather Large Orchestra (for which Ford has played) would be unfair. But the BBS, with its mix of retired professionals and semipros, can deliver the goods in enthusiastic fashion even if there’s a ragged moment or two during performance.

The group opened its performance with the fanfare-filled theme from “Lady Sings the Blues,” then moved into Bob Florence’s “Bebop Charlie,” an upbeat performance that swung between florid sax and clarinet sections, an interlude without percussion and a fine solo from tenor saxophonist Richard Fenno.

Detailed, contemporary arrangements from David Metzger (“Mr. Beautiful Walks His Pet Pig,” with its splashy introduction), Harry Connick Jr. (“It Had to Be You,” with vocalist Mike Hudson joining the band) and Ladd MacIntosh (“Coyote Women Blues”) were all given competent performances. Singer Hudson gave a warm, relaxed reading of “Body and Soul” backed only by the rhythm section before stepping back to let the orchestra wail.

But the band was at its best digging into music from the swing era, mainly Dahleen’s medley tribute to Benny Goodman and the Goodman favorite “Sing, Sing, Sing.”

Ford showed plenty of swing smarts during these numbers. He worked his high-hat as Dahleen cruised on clarinet during the Goodman tribute. His long solo during “Sing, Sing, Sing” seemed to encompass a history of jazz as it opened with jungle-like tom-tom play, moved to a Jo Jones-inspired high-hat ride, then turned to a more modern style with Buddy Rich-like drive.

It’s no surprise that Ford cites Rich as an inspiration, but he has plenty of swing experience himself: He spent five years touring the world with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. Raised in Queens, N.Y., Ford attended Manhattan’s La Guardia High School for the Performing Arts (popularized by the movie and television series “Fame”). He spent many a Monday watching another influence, drummer Mel Lewis, lead his big band at New York’s Village Vanguard.

Ford has also worked with trombonist Al Grey, pianist Walter Booker and saxophonist Ray Abrahams. He’s made a number of appearances at the Parade du Jazz in Nice, France, with groups including the Count Basie Orchestra and bassist Jack Bruce’s combo. He says that working with Dizzy Gillespie, when the trumpeter toured briefly with the Hampton band, was an especially rewarding educational experience.

Ford moved to Orange County after his stint with Hampton ended in 1990. He says he wants to help establish an interactive jazz scene here like the one he left in New York. And that seems to be what’s happening on Mondays at Steamers.

* The Big Band Staff with drummer Jimmy Ford plays Monday and March 11 at Steamers Cafe, 138 W. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton. The Jazz Lite Octette, also featuring Ford, plays March 4. All performances are at 8 p.m. No cover. (714) 871-8800.