The Musical Moods of Robben Ford

Robben Ford, the gentle blues hero who has called Ojai home for several years, has been busy recording and touring recently. A veteran of bands led by Joni Mitchell, Miles Davis and George Harrison--and long a leader in his own right--Ford makes one of his homecoming visits Saturday, headlining a show at the Ventura Theater, along with the bluesy groove sound of Derek Trucks.

The Robben Ford bin in music stores has two new entries, showcasing different sides of his musical persona. “Blue Moon,” his first project on the Concord label, is a juicy, colorfully produced new vocal album, with Ford singing in his unpretentious style and playing guitar with his usual tasteful fire. The album’s musician list includes the Yellowjackets’ Russell Ferrante on piano (who was on Ford’s debut album in the late 1970s), nimble drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and a cameo by Ojai’s Julie Christensen, purring on the slow-brewing “Make Me Your Only One.”

Off in the more instrumental corner of the music scene, Ford is also at the center of a subtle “power trio” session with Colaiuta and bassist Jimmy Haslip--another player on Ford’s debut album--on his new “Jing Chi,” released on the Bay Area guitar-oriented label Tone Center. If “Blue Moon” is all about integrating instruments and vocals, and different variations of the blues idiom, then “Jing Chi” is all about three musicians indulging in clean-burning playing, dishing out heated improvisation and collective energy.

Take your pick: Both albums abound in the signature musicality--off to the side of blues, jazz and pop--that Ford has fashioned into his own artistic domain.

Robben Ford with Derek Trucks, Saturday at Ventura Theater, 26 S. Chestnut St., 8 p.m. $22 to $32. (805) 653-0118.

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Theater of Struggle: Henrik Ibsen’s tough-skinned and rarely seen play “Ghosts” will have a monthlong run at the Ojai Art Center Theater starting this weekend. This Ibsen play is one of his realist works, alongside “A Doll’s House” and “An Enemy of the People,” exploring social hypocrisy and repressed emotion. Twisted lines are drawn between family members, which include a womanizing alcoholic and his similarly inclined son along with their wife/mother, who suffers the sins of her male counterparts.

Directed by Jesse Lovejoy, the play’s cast includes Catherine Dain, Arnold William Geer, Ron Rowe and Brook Masters.

“Ghosts,” Ojai Art Center Theater, 113 S. Montgomery St. Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends May 12. $12 general; $10 for senior citizens and Art Center members. (805) 640-8797.

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Convergence: Classical music and theater converge in the next production of the Rubicon Theater’s season, “Old Wicked Songs,” which is being presented in association with the Ventura Chamber Music Festival, May 2-12.

A Pulitzer Prize finalist written by Jon Marans, directed here by frequent Rubicon artist Jenny Sullivan, the play is a two-character tete-a-tete starring Harold Gould and Joseph Fuqua, who portray an imperious Austrian music teacher and his young American pianist protege, respectively. Between them, skeletons are coaxed from closets and tensions flare up, all to the tune of Robert Schumann’s song cycle “Dichterliebe.”

* “Old Wicked Songs,” at Rubicon Theatre Co., 1006 E. Main St., Suite 300, Ventura. Wednesdays to Saturdays, 8 p.m.; matinees Saturdays and Sundays, 2 p.m. $21 to $38. Saturday to May 19. (805) 667-2900.

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On the Bach Beat: Bach had his notable celebration two years ago, the 250th anniversary of his death in 1750, but his music is always timely. This weekend, a Bach Festival brings the music of the great composer to the campus of Cal Lutheran. The festival, with scholarly discussions and musical events, includes an organ concert Saturday night in Samuelson Chapel by noted organist Martin Jean. Sunday afternoon, “St. John Passion” will be performed in the chapel, featuring tenor Christopher Cock.

* Bach Festival, Saturday and Sunday at Cal Lutheran University, 60 W. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks. (805) 493-3305.