Marc Ribot & Tom Waits

Biography

Marc Ribot, born May 21, 1954, is an American guitarist and composer known for his versatile work across genres including no wave, free jazz, rock, and Cuban music. He began his career as a session musician in the late 1970s and early 1980s, performing with artists such as Brother Jack McDuff, Wilson Pickett, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, and Chuck Berry between 1979 and 1985. His breakthrough came in the mid-1980s with his role on Tom Waits's album Rain Dogs (1985), where his guitar work helped define Waits's shift toward a new, experimental Americana sound.[1][2][3]

Ribot's career developed extensively through session work and collaborations, notably with Tom Waits on subsequent albums including Franks Wild Years (1987), Big Time (1988), Mule Variations (1999), Real Gone (2004), Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards (2006), and Bad as Me (2011). He has also worked repeatedly with Elvis Costello on Spike (1989), Mighty Like a Rose (1991), and Kojak Variety (1995), as well as John Zorn on numerous Filmworks recordings, Masada Guitars, and as a member of Zorn's Bar Kokhba Sextet and Electric Masada. Over a 40-year career, Ribot has released more than 25 albums under his own name, exploring styles from Albert Ayler's free jazz with Spiritual Unity to Cuban music and post-rock/noise with Ceramic Dog, including recent works like Songs of Resistance 1942-2018 (2018) featuring guests such as Tom Waits.[1][3][4]

Ribot's musical style is characterized by dramatic, character-driven guitar playing, often adapting to the narrative context of songs, as seen in his Waits collaborations where he considered elements like setting, era, and ambiance to shape tone and effects. His legacy as a go-to session guitarist for roots-music adventurers spans hundreds of recordings, influencing experimental and genre-blending music while maintaining a prolific solo output.[2][3][4]

Fun Facts

• Marc Ribot used a cheap, awful but beautiful Japanese knockoff Telecaster (not a real Fender) while recording Tom Waits's Rain Dogs and Franks Wild Years.
• Keith Richards also played on Rain Dogs, but Ribot and Richards did not collaborate; Ribot walked in as Keith was leaving the studio one day.
• Ribot approaches guitar as a 'character in a play' in Tom Waits's music, considering dramatic elements like location, decade, and ambiance to choose pickups, reverb, and style.
• Ribot has appeared on over 500 releases, starting as a jazz guitarist making 'Barbie albums' on the side.

Musical Connections

Key Collaborators

• Tom Waits - frequent session guitarist and key contributor to experimental albums (Rain Dogs (1985), Franks Wild Years (1987), Big Time (1988), Mule Variations (1999), Real Gone (2004), Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards (2006), Bad as Me (2011), Songs of Resistance 1942-2018 (guest vocalist)) [1985-2018]
• Elvis Costello - session guitarist on multiple albums (Spike (1989), Mighty Like a Rose (1991), Kojak Variety (1995)) [1989-1995]
• John Zorn - frequent collaborator on recordings and band member (Filmworks series, Masada Guitars, Bar Kokhba Sextet, Electric Masada) [1990s-2010s]
• T Bone Burnett - frequent collaborator as producer (Raising Sand with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (2007)) [2000s]
• Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - session guitarist on Grammy-winning album (Raising Sand (2007)) [2007]

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia