Joined: 02 Jan 2002 Posts: 5677 Location: Glen Burnie, Maryland
Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2017 9:47 am Post subject:
^^ Yep! I tend to fall in both camps a little bit though. I LOVE some of the commercial stuff he did in the 70s and 80s, but I also have a healthy appreciation for his playing earlier in his career though - his time with Kenton, and the recordings he did with the Birdland Dream Band. _________________ Patrick Gleason
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"95% of the average 'weekend warrior's' problems will be solved by an additional 30 minutes of insightful practice." - PLP
Joined: 13 Nov 2001 Posts: 9830 Location: Chicago, Illinois
Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2017 10:41 am Post subject:
trickg wrote:
^^ Yep! I tend to fall in both camps a little bit though. I LOVE some of the commercial stuff he did in the 70s and 80s, but I also have a healthy appreciation for his playing earlier in his career though - his time with Kenton, and the recordings he did with the Birdland Dream Band.
Same here! A memory just came back. I was on a vacation in Hawaii with my Dad and Stepmom back in 1978. I was in the hotel room and had the radio on, tuned to a local pop/rock station. All of a sudden I heard a familiar song, but an arrangement I had never heard before, and it became clear as I listened, it had to be Maynard. It turned out to be the first time I heard his recording of "Theme from Battlestar Galactica". I was enthralled to hear him getting airplay on a big pop/rock radio station for the first time since his "Theme from Rocky" did the same.
Joined: 13 Nov 2001 Posts: 9830 Location: Chicago, Illinois
Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2017 10:48 am Post subject:
trickg wrote:
One of my favorite Maynard licks of all time comes in the cover of James Taylor's "Country Road" and it's toward the end at the tune. The line starts at the 3:55 mark, and the note he rips at 4:05 would have taken your head off across the room.
The ringtone on my iPhone is Maynard's solo at 2:13 of Country Road. The tone on my iPhone for Voicemail Message Received is the opening to Give It One - not the studio recording but the live recording at "Tempo de Hyperwarp" that can be found on YouTube. Life is good.
Joined: 28 Sep 2004 Posts: 8914 Location: Orange County, CA
Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2017 12:53 pm Post subject:
Add me to the list of huge Maynard fans. When I turned on to him in the late 70's I signed up for the Fanatic for Ferguson newsletter, went to all the local concerts and clinics, sometimes more than one in a week, and I started buying LPs. My affection only waned when he started using a smaller big band and for some reason the arrangements didn't seem as dramatic.
As much as I loved MF and tried to emulate him, later in life I turned onto a whole host of other great players. Nowadays I favor a very different sound concept. There are things he did that I think may never be bested. But there are other things I doubt he could have done better than Malcolm, Sergei, Doc,... Doesn't detract from my love of all things Maynard but I strive for something different. Fortunately, in art were not limited to just one pinnacle. _________________ "I'm an engineer, which means I think I know a whole bunch of stuff I really don't."
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Maynard of the 50s and 60s trump later, playing. Any doubts, listen to him holding his own with Clark Terry and Clifford Brown, heady company, in "Dinah Jams", or his "Message from Newport".[/quote]
I couldn't agree more. In his prime he could play with anyone. I recall a story from one of Maynard's band members. Might have been Dennis DeBlasio. They were playing in NYC and Maynard and Dennis were walking around town. They run into Lew Soloff and Marvin Stamn. Lew and Marvin we're like giddy teens, they were so thrilled to see him. When two guys as great as Lew and Marvin show that kind of respect you know that Maynard was something special.
Do you really think he could not double or triple tongue? And do it one heck of a lot better than you or I?
At one time he was on track to be an orchestral player so I'm sure it was something he worked on way, way back in his history before he became famous. He says in his biography that he could dbl/trpl tongue much better as a kid than he could later. Not something he worked on or felt any need to use. Can you name a single recording where he does it?
Quote:
Again, if you don't especially care for his playing, fine, and I'm not a "Maynard Ferguson forever!!" rabid fan, but if I could play HALF of what he could, I'd be pretty d*** happy.
I like a lot of what Maynard did - I have a stack of his albums. Just not my all-time favorite given a choice of who I'd want to emulate. _________________ Getzen Eterna Severinsen
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Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 3:22 am Post subject: Maynard
I was privileged to see him twice in the 70s, I am 67, and was blown away each time. If he entered my workplace right now early in the a.m., I would be face down on the floor. I love and respect all the masters, but Maynard had a style and sound all his own. That and the fact that he played hard enough to bleed from his nose and ears, too! He was always complimentary to his side men. I have listened to old 78 rpms of him with Kenton and had maybe half a dozen 331/3s in the day. He was a special person in jazz. I don't need to take away from any other cat that plays trumpet to say that MF was a movement.
Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 3:24 am Post subject: maynard
Another thing that I saw watching Maynard play a concert in Minnesota, I got there early and sat up front with a couple h.s. players I took, was spit fly out the end of the horn. The Greeks have a word for that it is, "throxos." GUTS
Absolutely love Maynard and was fortunate to have seen him live a dozen times or so along with Woody Herman and Buddy Rich. If I could totally emulate a high range sound it would be Billl Chase. His solo on Invitation to a River is just extraordinary ... Maynard was unreal in the 50's and 60's as well _________________ Schilke X3 Bb trumpet
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Joined: 02 Jan 2002 Posts: 5677 Location: Glen Burnie, Maryland
Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 8:53 am Post subject:
I've been watching a lot of Maynard vids on YouTube recently, and the one thing that always bothers me, and seems to be somewhat prevalent in his playing was the amount of slop in it. Lots of splee-ahs and chips.
There's been a comparison to Doc in this thread, and that's one thing you never really heard from Doc - there was always a level of precision in his playing, no matter what it was or how high he was playing. With that said, even with the slop here and there, Maynard was always fun to watch - he put on a heck of a show. _________________ Patrick Gleason
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"95% of the average 'weekend warrior's' problems will be solved by an additional 30 minutes of insightful practice." - PLP
I've been watching a lot of Maynard vids on YouTube recently, and the one thing that always bothers me, and seems to be somewhat prevalent in his playing was the amount of slop in it. Lots of splee-ahs and chips.
There's been a comparison to Doc in this thread, and that's one thing you never really heard from Doc - there was always a level of precision in his playing, no matter what it was or how high he was playing. With that said, even with the slop here and there, Maynard was always fun to watch - he put on a heck of a show.
Maynard's technical skills were definitely not as sharp as Doc. Being on the road so much takes it's toll. I once asked Maynard how much he practiced. He told me he didn't when he was on the road. Doc slept in his own bed during his Tonight Show years. He's also a fanatic about practicing. Doc is also very fit. He's in better shape than than most men in their 50s. All of that makes a difference.
That said, at the end of the day I would still rather listen to Maynard.
I've heard and met both many times. I was 50 the last time I heard Maynard. This was a few months before his death. I was still like a kid squirming in my seat waiting for him to come on stage. He sounded good and looked lighter than I had seen him in years. It also happened to be Patrick Hession's birthday. The band serenaded Pat and everyone was having a great time. No one had a better time than The Boss.
I left that show smiling and laughing. As great as Doc is I've never had the same feeling. I think overall that Doc was the better all around player. I've always felt Maynard was a more joyous and fun loving man. He always seemed to be in a happy mood.
Players like Doc, Mendez, Vizzutti, Jon Faddis, Jerry Hey, Bill Chase, Snooky, Porcino Goz, etc etc (it's a long list) all made me want to be a better trumpet player.
Joined: 04 Oct 2015 Posts: 805 Location: South Carolina
Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 2:34 pm Post subject:
Herb Alpert and Maurice Andre made me want to be a trumpet player. Maynard made me believe that it was impossible to be a trumpet player.
Warm regards,
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Joined: 02 Jan 2002 Posts: 5677 Location: Glen Burnie, Maryland
Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 5:41 am Post subject:
peanuts56 wrote:
Maynard's technical skills were definitely not as sharp as Doc. Being on the road so much takes it's toll. I once asked Maynard how much he practiced. He told me he didn't when he was on the road. Doc slept in his own bed during his Tonight Show years. He's also a fanatic about practicing. Doc is also very fit. He's in better shape than than most men in their 50s. All of that makes a difference.
That said, at the end of the day I would still rather listen to Maynard.
I've heard and met both many times. I was 50 the last time I heard Maynard. This was a few months before his death. I was still like a kid squirming in my seat waiting for him to come on stage. He sounded good and looked lighter than I had seen him in years. It also happened to be Patrick Hession's birthday. The band serenaded Pat and everyone was having a great time. No one had a better time than The Boss.
I left that show smiling and laughing. As great as Doc is I've never had the same feeling. I think overall that Doc was the better all around player. I've always felt Maynard was a more joyous and fun loving man. He always seemed to be in a happy mood.
Lots of good stuff in here.
In regard to asking Maynard about practicing and him saying he didn't practice on the road, my son says the same thing about it - he's in a signed indie band that tours all over the place. (he's done several US tours and has a European tour coming up in Nov/Dec) He says that there just isn't time to practice, and the setup just isn't conducive to it. Between the travel between cities, set up, tear down, and the natural socialization that happens with fans, other bands, and the folks at the venues, it just not something that lends itself well to taking time out to practice. He practices a lot at home though.
Regarding the bit about being in shape, I know that in my own experience, I always play better when I'm making an effort to stay fit. I'm not sure what it is is about it - I don't know if it's the increased cardio, the increased strength or what, but I always do better if I'm fit.
In regard to the excitement factor at Maynard shows, it was always there. I only saw Maynard 4 times total. Once was at a high school, and the other 3 time were at Blues Alley in Georgetown/Washington DC. Maynard had a way of pulling the crowd in and making them feel like they were a part of the show, and I guess in some ways, we really were. Of the 4 times I saw him live - and all of these were toward the end of his life - he only really had an off night once, and two of those times he was on the money the whole night. _________________ Patrick Gleason
- Jupiter 1600i, ACB 3C, Warburton 4SVW/Titmus RT2
- Brasspire Unicorn C
- ACB Doubler
"95% of the average 'weekend warrior's' problems will be solved by an additional 30 minutes of insightful practice." - PLP
Man, I haven't heard "Country Road" in a while. I must have heard it a thousand times over the years, but listening to it just now on my Rokit monitors here at work, nobody could ever emulate that sound. And I am not even going to mention the lip trills...
Thanks for posting.
I used to have my own radio show on a local Big Band station back in the 80's. Played a lot of MF, along with Buddy Rich, Count Basie, Duke, newer Woody Herman- great gig! I remember signing off one night with La Fiesta. (Hmmm, maybe that's why I was let go).
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