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Biography
Use mdy dates|date=August 2010Infobox musical artist | name = Maynard Ferguson| image = Maynard.jpg| caption =| image_size =| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist| birth_name = Walter Maynard Ferguson| birth_date = Birth date|mf=yes|1928|5|4| death_date = death date and age|mf=yes|2006|8|23|1928|5|4| origin = Verdun, Quebec|Verdun , Quebec , Canada| instrument = Trumpet , flugelhorn , soprano saxophone , baritone horn | genre = Jazz | occupation = Bandleader , trumpeter | years_active = 1939& ndash;2006| label =| associated_acts = Big Bop Nouveau , Stan Kenton Orchestra | website = http://maynardferguson.com maynardferguson.com| notable_instruments = Superbone , Firebird (trumpet)|Firebird | children = Corby, Lisa, Bentley, Wilder| spouse = Flo Ferguson Walter Maynard Ferguson (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz musician and bandleader . He came to prominence playing in Stan Kenton 's orchestra, before forming his own band in 1957. He was noted for being able to play accurately in a remarkably high register (music)|register , and for his bands, which served as stepping stones for up-and-coming talent.cite web |url = http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm? PgNm=TCE& Params=U1ARTU0001188 |title = Ferguson, Maynard |accessdate = 2008-01-02 |work = Encyclopedia of Music in Canada |publisher = The Canadian Encyclopedia
Biography
Early life and education
Ferguson was born in Verdun, Quebec|Verdun , Quebec (now part of Montreal ). 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 as a child prodigy with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Orchestra and was heard frequently on the CBC, notably featured on a "Serenade for Trumpet in Jazz" written for him by Morris Davis (composer)|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 band leaders and began receiving offers to come to the United States.
Ferguson finally moved to the United States in 1948 intending to join Stan Kenton's organization. But Kenton had just disbanded his orchestra, so Ferguson initially played with the bands of Boyd Raeburn , Jimmy Dorsey , and Charlie Barnet . The Barnet band was notable for a trumpet section that also included Doc Severinsen , Ray Wetzel , Johnny Howell, and Rolf Ericson . Ferguson was featured on a notoriously flamboyant Barnet recording of Jerome Kern 's " All The Things You Are " that showcased Ferguson's upper register playing. The recording reportedly enraged Kern's widow and was subsequently withdrawn from sale. When Barnet temporarily retired in 1949 and disbanded his orchestra, Ferguson was free to accept an offer to join Stan Kenton's newly formed Innovations Orchestra.
Kenton and Hollywood
Stan Kenton 's bands were notable for their strong brass sections and Ferguson was a natural fit. In 1950, Kenton formed the Innovations Orchestra, a 40-piece jazz concert orchestra with strings, and with the folding of the Barnet band, Ferguson was available for the first rehearsal on January 1, 1950. While the Innovations Orchestra was not commercially successful, it made a number of remarkable recordings, including "Maynard Ferguson," one of a series of pieces named after featured soloists.
When Kenton returned to a more practical 19-piece jazz band, Ferguson continued with him. Contrary to the natural assumption, Ferguson was not Kenton's lead trumpet player, but played the third chair with numerous solo features, as noted in the scores written for the Kenton band during this period. Notable recordings from this period that feature Ferguson include "Invention for Guitar and Trumpet", " What's New? " and "The Hot Canary".
So popular was Ferguson with Kenton that for three years running, 1950, 1951, and 1952, he won the Down Beat Readers' Poll as best trumpeter.cite web | url = http://www.downbeat.com/default.asp? sect=stories& subsect=story_detail& sid=756 | title = 1950 Down Beat Readers Poll | accessdate = 2008-02-20 | author = Down Beat Readers | date = 1950-12-31 | work = Articles | publisher = Down Beat magazine cite web | url = http://www.downbeat.com/default.asp? sect=stories& subsect=story_detail& sid=757 | title = 1951 Down Beat Readers Poll | accessdate = 2008-02-20 | author = Down Beat Readers | date = 1951-12-31 | work = Articles | publisher = Down Beat magazine cite web | url = http://www.downbeat.com/default.asp? sect=stories& subsect=story_detail& sid=758 | title = 1952 Down Beat Readers Poll | accessdate = 2008-02-20 | author = Down Beat Readers | date = 1952-12-31 | work = Articles | publisher = Down Beat magazine
In 1953, Ferguson left Kenton to become a session player for Paramount Pictures , soon becoming the first-call player. Ferguson appeared on 46 soundtracks including The Ten Commandments (1956 film)|The Ten Commandments . Ferguson still recorded jazz during this period, but his Paramount contract prevented him from playing jazz clubs. This was sometimes circumvented by appearing under aliases such as "Tiger Brown", "Foxy Corby", and others. While he enjoyed the regular Paramount paycheck, Ferguson was very unhappy with the lack of live performance opportunities and left Paramount in 1956. Ferguson can clearly be discerned on several soundtracks from the time, including the Martin and Lewis films "Living it Up" and "You're Never Too Young."
The Birdland Dream Band
In 1956, Ferguson became the leader of the Birdland Dream Band, a 14-piece big band formed by Morris Levy as an "all-star" lineup to play at Levy's — Birdland (jazz club)|Birdland jazz club in New York City. While the name "Birdland Dream Band" was short-lived and is represented by only two albums over the course of a year, this band became the core of Ferguson's performing band for the next nine years. The band included, at various times, such players as Slide Hampton , Don Ellis , Don Sebesky , Willie Maiden , John Bunch , Joe Zawinul , Joe Farrell , Jaki Byard , Lanny Morgan , Rufus Jones, Nino Tempo , Bill Berry, Bill Chase, and Don Menza . Arrangers included Slide Hampton , Jay Chattaway , Bob Brookmeyer , Jimmy Giuffre , Bill Holman (musician)|Bill Holman and Marty Paich .
In 1959 Ferguson guested with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Leonard Bernstein performing "The Titan Suite", a complicated modernist piece featuring the extreme high register of the trumpet. It is argued that at the time, perhaps no trumpeter but Ferguson could have played the piece at all. Since then, only a handful have attempted to perform the work.
As big bands declined in popularity and economic viability into the 1960s, Ferguson's band performed more infrequently. Ferguson began to feel musically stifled and sensed a resistance to change among his American jazz audiences. According to a Down Beat interview, he was quoted as saying that if the band did not play "Maria" or "Ole," the fans went home disappointed. Ferguson began performing with a sextet before finally officially disbanding his big band in 1966.
Millbrook, India and psychedelic spirituality
After leaving his long-time recording contract and the end of his main club gig, Ferguson moved his family to the William Hitchcock|Hitchcock estate in Millbrook, New York in November 1963 to live with Timothy Leary , Ram Dass , and their community from Harvard University . He and his wife Flo used Lysergic acid diethylamide|LSD , psilocybin and other psychedelic drugs for spiritual awakening. They lived at Millbrook for about three years, playing clubs and recording several albums.cite news|work=New York Times|quote=After a trip or two to Timothy Leary’s consciousness-altering community in Millbrook, N.Y., Ferguson dissolved his band in 1967 and moved to India for a year.|title=Maynard Ferguson, 78, Trumpeter and Bandleader, Dies |author=Tim Weiner |date=August 25, 2006cite web|url= http://www.timothylearyarchives.org/interview-with-lisa-ferguson-millbrook-kid-and-director-of-children-of-the-revolution/|title=Interview with Lisa Ferguson – Millbrook Kid and Director of "Children of the Revolution" |date=February 9, 2009|work=Timothy Leary Archivescite web|url= http://maynardfergusonboard.yuku.com/reply/46720/Tim-Leary-Video#reply-46720|title=Re Tim Leary Video in Maynard Ferguson and General Music Forum|quote=In 1963, Leary's invitation to Maynard to move into Millbrook's gatehouse allowed MF to pour whatever money he saved by moving out of the expensive Riverdale apartment back into the band, which by this time was floundering financially. Maynard also rehearsed the band in the gatehouse, thus saving on studio fees. There's a poignant moment in the MF Horn bio as Maynard recalls that daughter Lisa, then 5 years old, could nap even as the band played in the same room. Thus, Leary's generosity allowed the MF band to continue into 1964, when the two Cameo albums and the Mainstream album Color Him Wild were recorded with the remnants of the so-called Roulette band. In 1967, as the Millbrook experiment was ending, Ferguson moved with his family to India , and taught at the Jiddu Krishnamurti|Krishnamurti -based Rishi Valley School near Madras . He was associated with the Sri Sathya Sai University|Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning 's Boys Brass Band, which he founded and helped teach at for several years. While in India, Ferguson was influenced by Sathya Sai Baba , whom he considered as his spiritual guru.A picture of Ferguson with the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning's Boys Brass Band can be found at: http://www.maynardferguson.com/images/exclusives/mfrare5.jpg
England
In 1969, Ferguson moved to just outside Windsor (about 20 miles from London) in a very small place called Oakley Green . He had two houses while he was in the UK, the final one being a 3 story house down by the River Thames.
That same year, Ferguson signed with CBS Records in England and formed a big band with British musicians that performed in the newly popular jazz/rock fusion style. The band's repertoire included original compositions as well as pop and rock songs rearranged into a big band format with electronic amplification. This British band's output is represented by the four "MF Horn" albums, which included arrangements of the pop songs " MacArthur Park (song)|MacArthur Park " and " Hey Jude ".
In 1970 he led his big band on UK television as part of BBC's Simon Dee Show (also known as Dee Time ).cite web | url = http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article1221906.ece | title = Maynard Ferguson, jazz trumpet maestro | accessdate = 2006-12-31 | author = Steve Voce | date = 2006-08-26 | work = Obituaries | publisher = The Independent Ferguson often quipped with Dee,Citation needed|date=February 2007 similar to his contemporary Doc Severinsen 's rapport with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson|The Tonight Show . By 1971, Ferguson was a household name in Britain.Citation needed|date=February 2007
Return to the U.S.
In 1976, Ferguson performed a solo trumpet piece as part of the closing ceremonies for the Summer Olympics in Montreal, symbolically "blowing out the flame".
Recordings for a 1975 album were abandoned and the next year Ferguson began working with producer Bob James (musician)|Bob James on a series of commercially successful albums. These were complex studio productions featuring large groups of session musician s, including strings, vocalists and star guest soloists. The first of these albums was Primal Scream , featuring Chick Corea , Mark Colby, Steve Gadd , and Bobby Militello . The second, Conquistador in 1977, resulted in a top-30 (#22) pop single, " Gonna Fly Now " (from the movie Rocky ), a rare accomplishment for a jazz musician in the 1970s. Aside from an exciting Jay Chattaway arrangement and dense Bob James production, the single was also helped by the fact that it was released prior to the official soundtrack album of the hit movie. Ferguson maintained a hectic touring schedule during this period, with well-attended concerts that featured concert lighting and heavy amplification. The commercial success allowed him to add a guitarist and an additional percussionist to his band's line-up.
Ferguson continued with this musical model for the remainder of the 1970s, receiving considerable acclaim from audiences but an often tepid response from some jazz purists, who decried his commercialism and questioned his taste. Ferguson reportedly also began to experience great frustration with Columbia over being unable to use his working band on recording projects and having difficulty including even a single jazz number on some albums. Ferguson's contract with Columbia Records expired after the 1982 release of the Hollywood album, produced by jazz bassist Stanley Clarke .
Ferguson recorded three big band albums with smaller labels in the mid '80s before forming a more economical electronica-fusion septet, "High Voltage," in 1986. This ensemble, which featured multi-reed player Denis DiBlasio and trombonist Steve Wiest among an abridged horn section, recorded two albums and received mixed reviews. Though regarded favorably for this attempt to remain fresh and experimental, the format was ultimately unsatisfying to Ferguson, who had grown up in big bands and developed a performing style most appropriate to that structure.
Big Bop Nouveau
To mark his 60th birthday In 1988, Ferguson returned to a large band format and to more mainstream jazz. That then led to the formation of Big Bop Nouveau , a nine-piece band featuring two trumpets, one trombone, three reeds and a three-piece rhythm section which became his standard touring group for the remainder of his career. Later, due to the increasing responsibilities being placed on the trumpet players, the baritone sax position was replaced by a third trumpet player. The band's repertoire included original jazz compositions and modern arrangements of jazz standards, with occasional pieces from his '70s book and even modified charts from the Birdland Dream Band era; this format proved to be successful with audiences and critics. The band recorded extensively, including albums backing vocalists Diane Schuur and Michael Feinstein . Although in later years Ferguson's playing occasionally lost some of the range and phenomenal accuracy of his youth, he always remained an exciting performer, touring an average of nine months a year with Big Bop Nouveau for the remainder of his life.
Personal life
In the mid 1970s, Ferguson settled in Ojai , California, where he lived to the end of his life. Maynard's marriage to Flo Ferguson (in 1955) lasted until her death on February 27, 2005. Ferguson had three daughters: Corby, Lisa, and Wilder, and a step daughter, Kim, from Flo's first marriage. A son, Bentley, preceded his parents in death. Kim Ferguson is married to Maynard's former road manager, Jim Exon. Wilder Ferguson is married to jazz pianist (and former Big Bop Nouveau member) Christian Jacob. Lisa Ferguson is a writer and film maker living in Los Angeles. At the time of his death, Ferguson had two granddaughters, Erica and Sandra. Maynard Ferguson died Wednesday, August 23, 2006, at Community Memorial Hospital. His death was reported as being due to the result of kidney and liver failure brought on by an abdominal infection.
Honors
In 1992, he was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame.
In Spring of 2000 Maynard Ferguson was also initiated as a brother of Kappa Kappa Psi at the Gamma Xi Chapter (University of Maryland at College Park).
A 4-day series of seminars and concerts honoring Ferguson and his career were held in Las Vegas with Ferguson in attendance in fall of 2004. Called "Stratospheric", band members past and present, friends, relatives, and fans attended the event.
In 2006, he was presented Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity's Charles E. Lutton Man of Music Award at its national convention in Cleveland, Ohio. He had been initiated as an honorary member of the Fraternity's Xi Chi Chapter at Tennessee Tech University in 1976.
The Sherman Jazz Museum in Sherman, Texas opened in 2010 and houses the extensive memorabilia of Ferguson's estate.
Influence
Maynard Ferguson was one of a handful of virtuoso musician/bandleaders to survive the end of the big band era and the rise of rock and roll . He demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt to the musical trends that evolved from the 1940s through the 2000s. Ferguson's albums show an evolution from big band swing (genre)|swing , bebop , cool jazz , Latin jazz|Latin , jazz / rock, jazz fusion|fusion with classical music|classical and opera tic influences. Through his devotion to music education in America, Ferguson was able to impart the spirit of his jazz playing and technique to scores of amateur and professional trumpeters during the many Master Classes held throughout his long career.
Ferguson was not the first trumpeter to play in the extreme upper register, but he had a unique ability to play high notes with full, rich tone, power, and musicality. While regarded by some as showboating, Ferguson's tone, phrasing and vibrato was instantly recognizable and has been influential on and imitated by generations of amateur and professional trumpet players. A direct connection to Ferguson's style of playing continues in the work of the trumpeters who played with him, notably Patrick Hession , Roger Ingram , Wayne Bergeron and Eric Myashiro. Although some had believed that Ferguson was endowed with exceptional facial musculature, he often shared in interviews that his command of the upper registers was based mostly on breath control,cite web |url = http://maynard.ferguson.net/changes.html |title = Maynard's Changes |accessdate = 2007-07-20 |author = Zan Stewart |year = 1985 |month = September |work = Down Beat |quote = There's nothing superstrong about my lip, but there is about my range and stamina. That comes from ... my breathing. something he had discovered as a youngster in Montreal. Ferguson also attributed the longevity of his demanding bravura trumpet technique through his later years to the spiritual and yoga studies he pursued while in India.
Musician Al Kooper has written and stated that Maynard Ferguson's orchestra inspired Kooper's formation of the band Blood, Sweat & Tears. Trumpeter and bandleader Bill Chase and scores of other trumpeters (to say nothing of others) were clearly influenced by Ferguson's playing and performing style.
While Ferguson's range was his most obvious attribute, perhaps equally significant was the personal charisma Ferguson brought to a musical genre that is often seen as veering towards the cold and cerebral. As Ferguson's obituary in the Washington Post declared:
"Ferguson lit up thousands of young horn players, most of them boys, with pride and excitement. In a (high school) world often divided between jocks and band nerds, Ferguson crossed over, because he approached his music almost as an athletic event. On stage, he strained, sweated, heaved and roared. He nailed the upper registers like Shaq nailing a dunk or Lawrence Taylor nailing a running back & ndash; and the audience reaction was exactly the same: the guttural shout, the leap to their feet, the fists in the air. We cheered Maynard as a gladiator, a combat soldier, a prize fighter, a circus strongman & ndash; choose your masculine archetype."David Von Drehle, '' http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/25/AR2006082501440.html Maynard Ferguson's Horn Screamed With Vulgar Passion, Washington Post , 2006-08-26.
Ferguson designed and popularized two unique instruments called the ' Firebird (trumpet)|Firebird ' and the ' Superbone '. The Firebird was similar to a trumpet , but had the valves played with the left hand (instead of the right) and a trombone-style slide played with the right hand. Indian-American trumpeter Rajesh Mehta bought this trumpet while living in Amsterdam and played the Firebird in his own innovative music contexts from 1998 until 2011 when he had American trumpet maker George Schlub create the Orka-M Naga Phoenix trumpet for him. The Superbone was another hybrid instrument, which was fundamentally a trombone with additional valves played with the left hand. Ferguson regularly incorporated Indian musical instruments|Indian instruments and influences in albums and concerts.
Shortly before his death, he received the Man of Music Award by Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity, of which he was a member. The Maynard Ferguson Institute of Jazz Studies at Rowan University was created in 2000, the same year Rowan bestowed Ferguson with his only Honorary Doctorate degree. The Institute, currently under direction of Ferguson's longtime friend and fellow musician Denis Diblasio, supports the Rowan Jazz Program in training young jazz musicians. http://www.rowan.edu/colleges/fpa/ferguson/index.htm The Maynard Ferguson Institute of Jazz Studies
Maynard Ferguson band alumni regrouped for a highly emotional memorial concert soon after his death, fronted by high range trumpeters Wayne Bergeron , Patrick Hession , Walter White, and Eric Miyashiro. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=KCA-edcGsO4 gonna fly now - YouTube A DVD of the concert was released, also featuring footage of Ferguson in performance, and spoken tributes from colleagues. A similar ensemble united for a tribute concert on what would have been Ferguson's 80th birthday. Other occasional groupings and concerts, often with Ferguson band alumni, have occurred. In addition, several tribute albums by a variety of noted trumpeters have been released, helping to keep Ferguson's music alive, and serve as a legacy for future generations. Of course, Ferguson's own rich recorded legacy remains to thrill, awe, entertain, and inspire.
Discography
1953 - Jam Session Featuring Maynard Ferguson
1954 - Dimensions
1954 - Dinah Jams
1954 - ''Maynard Ferguson's Hollywood Party
1954 - Brown-Terry-Ferguson Jam Session Companion album to "Dinah Jams"
Maynard Ferguson's compositions included "Give It One", "Ganesha", "Fireshaker", "At the Sound of the Trumpet", "Air Conditioned", "M.F. Carnival", "How Ya Doin' Baby? ", "It's the Gospel Truth", "He Can't Swing", "Sweet Baba Suite (Bai Rav)", "Dance to Your Heart", "I Don't Want to Be a Hoochi Coochie Man No Mo'", "Poison Ya' Blues", "Footpath Cafe", and "Everybody Loves the Blues".
See also
Portal|Music of Canada
Music of Canada
Canadian Music Hall of Fame
References
Reflist
External links
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm? PgNm=TCE& Params=U1ARTU0001188 Biography in the Canadian Encyclopedia
http://www.worldmusiccentral.org/article.php/20060824195342242 Legendary Trumpeter Maynard Ferguson Dies at 78
http://www.trumpetguild.org/maynardtribute/maynard1.html International Trumpet Guild MF tribute pages
http://www.oraclesmusic.com/Review_17_Maynard_Ferguson.php Review of MF Horn 4 & 5 Live At Jimmy's
http://www.jazzchicago.net/maynard.shtml One of the last Maynard Ferguson concert reviews at JazzChicago.net
http://www.oraclesmusic.com/Review_29_Maynard_Ferguson.php Review of Maynard Ferguson's Last CD, The One and Only Maynard Ferguson
http://www.maynardfergusonbook.com Maynard& #33; - interviews with 30 musicians and others from Maynard Ferguson's earliest U.S. gigs in the late 1940s to the peak of his career on Columbia Records in the 1970s
Persondata|NAME=Ferguson, Maynard |ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Ferguson, Walter Maynard (real name) |SHORT DESCRIPTION=Jazz trumpet player; Bandleader |DATE OF BIRTH=May 4, 1928 |PLACE OF BIRTH= Verdun, Quebec |DATE OF DEATH=August 23, 2006 |PLACE OF DEATH= Ventura, California DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Maynard Category:1928 births Category:2006 deaths Category:Apex Records artists Category:Anglophone Quebec people Category:Canadian jazz trumpeters Category:Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:Canadian jazz bandleaders Category:People from Verdun, Quebec Category:Canadian trumpeters Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal alumni Category:Crossover jazz trumpeters Category:Deaths from renal failure Category:Hard bop trumpeters Category:Jazz-pop trumpeters Category:Mainstream Records artists Category:People from Montreal Category:Rocky music
