 He took his Bachelor's in music education in 1968 from Central State University, then taught in Buffalo public schools from 1968 to 1972.While working at the Buffalo Public Library in 1974-75, Ford played in the Birthright ensemble, then played with McCoy Tyner in 1976.Since the early 1980s he has worked extensively as a sideman, playing with Sam Jones, Lester Bowie, Jimmy Owens, Idris Muhammad, Abdullah Ibrahim, Chico O'Farrill, Saheb Sarbib (1984), Avery Sharpe (1988), Jerry Gonzalez (from 1988), Larry Willis (1989), Michael Logan (1990), Malachi Thompson (1991), John Blake (1992), Ronnie Burrage (1993), Hannibal Marvin Peterson (1993), Freddie Cole (1993), Steve Berrios (1995), and Nova Bossa Nova (1997).