Maynard Ferguson

Arjuna · Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 12:11 pm Post subject: Maynard Ferguson

Maynard Ferguson had a gift from above with a clarion sound that was like Gabriel and his trumpet.
Maynard Ferguson was the greatest and unrivaled artist of the upper register.
Maynard Ferguson was one of the most underrated jazz players of all time.
Maynard Ferguson was my hero and a hero to everyone.

trumpet.sanity · Heavyweight Member Joined: 24 Oct 2016 Posts: 763

Winghorn · Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 4:11 pm Post subject:

Maynard was amazing and was called the greatest trumpeter of the 20th century by Adolf Herseth. Any questions?

But he was NOT a jazz innovator like Clifford, Miles, Dizzy, Louis, etc., and as far as I know, never claimed to be.

So if the OP means that Maynard was not always given credit for his ability to play good, tasty jazz, I have to somewhat agree. But one of the most underrated jazz players of all time? Hardly.

Steve

cheiden · Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 4:36 pm Post subject:

Maynard occupied a space that was all his own. And I don't think there's any shortage of great jazz players that have been under-recognized. But Maynard was one of the most known trumpet players ever so I rarely consider him under-recognized in any aspect of the craft.
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MF Fan · Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 7:27 pm Post subject:

Maynard was more recognized for his jazz playing earlier in his career.The fact he won the 1950, 1951, and 1952 Down Beat Readers' Poll as best trumpeter says something, considering guys like Roy, Pops, Miles, and Diz were also on those lists. Granted, winning a reader's poll, or any poll for that matter doesn't mean anything other than a measure of popularity. I imagine Maynard, while proud, had to be a little sheepish when he crossed paths with these other legends on the occasions he topped the poll.
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JoseLindE4 · Heavyweight Member Joined: 18 Apr 2003 Posts: 791

I love Maynard. That said, the underrated aspect of his jazz chops could be a function of how lowly we rate his abilities. Meaning that since he could get around changes but many of us associate him with the (spectacular) cheese of the 70s or his lips trills in his later years, then he probably qualifies highly underrated.

falado · Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 4:13 am Post subject:

Hi, I do believe he was greatly underrated. Listen to the pre 70's stuff he did. Back in the late 70's I was in Japan (3rd Marine Division Band) and in a record store I found and bought these albums: Message From Newport, Ole, and the third I don't remember the name of the album, but it feature Maynard, Clifford Brown, and Clark Terry. These albums are not all peel the paint off the wall commercial stuff, there's some great playing and arrangements in all 3 and I'm sure there are more out there.

Dave
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trickg · Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 6:39 am Post subject:

On some of his earlier recordings, Maynard could bebop as well as anyone. I think that saying that he could "get around changes" is an understatement.

With that said, I think Maynard saw the writing on the wall, and made a conscious choice to feature his abilities as a high note artist rather than a true "jazz" player. That's what kept him touring, selling scads of records, and what paid the bills.
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JoseLindE4 · Heavyweight Member Joined: 18 Apr 2003 Posts: 791

MF Fan · Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 9:58 am Post subject:

Interestingly Maynard played changes by ear, though I expect he had a general understanding of the theory, which notes fit in the more common progressions. That said, he was never one to carve his way through a complex series of changes....but so what? He was a complete package as a player, a very strong technical player that could sight read as good as anyone in the business.
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RussellDDixon · Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 10:07 am Post subject:

All BEFORE the age of 15 - From Wikipedia ...

"Ferguson was born in Verdun (now part of Montreal), Quebec. Encouraged by his mother and father (both musicians), Maynard was playing piano and violin by the age of four. Newsreel footage exists of Ferguson as a child prodigy violinist. At nine years old, he heard a cornet for the first time in his local church and asked his parents to purchase one for him. At age thirteen, Ferguson first soloed with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Orchestra. He was heard frequently on the CBC, notably featured on a "Serenade for Trumpet in Jazz" written for him by Morris Davis. Ferguson won a scholarship to the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal where he studied from 1943 through 1948 with Bernard Baker.

Ferguson dropped out of Montreal High School at age 15 to more actively pursue a music career, performing in dance bands led by Stan Wood, Roland David, and Johnny Holmes. While trumpet was his primary instrument, Ferguson also performed on other brass and reed instruments. Ferguson later took over the dance band formed by his saxophonist brother Percy, playing dates in the Montreal area and serving as an opening act for touring bands from Canada and the USA. During this period, Ferguson came to the attention of numerous American bandleaders and began receiving offers to come to the United States."

Maynard played plenty of jazz in his early years on trumpet, valve trombone and occasionally baritone. he was indeed called "the greatest BRASS player of the 20th Century by Adolf Herseth." I remember reading the "Instrumentalist" magazine where Herseth stated this.

He was a child prodigy and accomplished much before he was even 15 years of age!

Maynard exuded pure JOY when he performed and I never once observed or even heard of him giving off a negative vibe to his players or audience.
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jazzpro33 · Regular Member Joined: 05 Mar 2017 Posts: 19

trickg · Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 7:26 am Post subject: Re: Maynard Ferguson

trumpet.sanity · Heavyweight Member Joined: 24 Oct 2016 Posts: 763

Yo trickg

Cool post, Maynard soothes the soul of even the toughest drill sgt!!

Talking about cassettes blasted me back to memories of the 80s, and what a good time those days were. Record stores? Talking to humans, actually touching albums? Good times.

For nostalgia, I'm listening to some rock era Maynard. Nothing past the MF Horn records, just the really good stuff

Waves of good memories, otherworldly 1970s Maynard, some good coffee, and a little toke. It's gonna be a good day I think

highnotefan · Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 9:18 am Post subject:

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"Maynardology" is now 813 members! All Maynard - all the time. Fun. Intelligent. Thoughful. Historical. Analytical.

Your Resident Maynardologist (that's me

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marieritac@gmail.com · New Member Joined: 31 Mar 2017 Posts: 5

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