Maynard Ferguson - Birdland

[TheFrogndanable]

I love the little scoops by the lead trumpet at 0:55 !

[Littlebocco]

this is arguably the best recording i've ever heard from eric miyashiro, props to him!!

[eAcetaldehyd]

@F3582 I have no personal connection to the atomic bombing (though why should that be relevant?), and no, I don't think you're a bad person, I don't think MF was for saying that either. There's a world of difference between Fukushima and Hiroshima, but that's another issue. It's not a racist comment, so the analogy about Jewish jokes isn't relevant. I just think it's a bit tasteless, that's all; like I said, it seems a strange way to compliment someone by reference to a horrific event.

[sabresfan429]

Who is the Tenor Sax player? Anyone know?

[20BCeltics]

I always love his face when he plays the trumpet

[eAcetaldehyd]

Anyone else think that MF's "Eric Hiroshima" remark is, well, utterly tasteless? I'm sure he meant it as a compliment, but, referencing an event in which thousands of that guy's countrymen were killed? If a Jew played a good solo, would you yell "Auschwitz"? If an American gave an impressive solo, would you yell "9/11"?

[F3582]

@eAcetaldehyd No, probably just a freudian slip. Are you involved in anything of those incidents, like, having Japanese ancestors that died there? Why do you think Japanese people would be offended by this? I've heard people call him Eric Fukushima this spring and I laughed hard. Am I a bad person, now? Always remember that the most offensive jokes about jews are created by jews.

[dallas1963]

@F3582 ..I really have no idea wha you are getting at...why would the mere mention of the city of Hiroshima cause you to take the curious leap to WWII and the atomic bomb?...here is an analogy for you...suppose Maynard had a band member from New York City and referred to him as "Mr. New York", is that tasteless as well?.. following your line of thinking, it would!..after all, a horrific event occurred in NYC on 9/11/01.

MF used "Hiroshima" since it has a similar sound to Miyashiro

[dallas1963]

@dallas1963 you need to stop being offended on behalf of other people....there are too many people like you out there...Eric absolutely adored MF...even has a MF tribute CD...he plays Maynard songs everywhere he goes for chrissakes!!....he obviously was not offended and he certainly does not need you to be offended for him!

[rockcritic]

before I got braces in 1975 I wanted to be Maynard Ferguson. Now I aint worthy of being his roadie!!

[MelodyOhMy]

@rockcritic braces suck D; i fought through them and won :) it was worse getting them off and playing

[LoHAtrox]

Anyone who ever had the chance to meet Maynard Ferguson, is a very lucky person. That man was amazing at Trumpet.

[Vapor419]

@matalmike nope. That's not Eric Marienthal. It kind of sounds like him, but Eric Marienthal is way better :)

[matalmike]

is that eric marianthal on sax? hope i spelled that right.....

[Branon5]

Eric was good but Maynard was even better

[CoolStoryBro88100]

Even when he was old Maynard was still hitting those high notes

[Nickster7ROR]

Brass section is better than your damn rhythm section! Haha jk. I can respect both sections!

[MusicXawsome]

Who cares about the brass section, listen to the rhythm section.

[Spider2point0]

Trumpet ninja + Ferguson + Epic sax solo = Epic. Pure Epic.

[adriank9]

trumpet ninja 1:14

[SHADOWCOMMS12345]

its that STEVE WIEST! ON TROMBONE?

[ndouglas1999]

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Salamander014]

"Eric....Hiroshima!"

[rdc300]

insanely good

[jazztrumpet93]

That's not a she it's a he and his name is Eric! DAs!

[ItalianBeatz11]

They need this for itunes

[CessnaPilot1B9]

what does he say at 2:45 to Eric?

[edi7001]

Great!!!! 

[steven2361]

love the drummers expression

[stevebul]

It seemed to me that Maynard mispronounced Eric's name, maybe just hearing things.

[beta447]

That chick is so good holy fucking shit.

[jamieblond1]

@beta447 I fuckin' agree! Erica Miyachiro is almost as good as Maynard.....and her hair is nice, too.

[robbitthehobbit1]

four people really SUCK!!!

[satchmo9e]

what the hell. why isnt Eric wearing his shirt?

[jokerjun1]

i recognize that trumpet player, she use to play in the buddy rich big band.

[mortalfrog0815]

the trumpet solo was quite good, not changing the fact that the trumpeter is ugly like hell!

[DocXtheGreat]

This is probably the better version of Birdland I've heard. But then again which version isn't awesome.

[TheFranklefurt]

fav jazz song ever

[maggusb]

Even if I am a trumpet player myself and liked MF in the past, meanwhile i must say he sometimes was much too drunk to go on stage and he exaggerated to the max.

Don't missunderstand me: I respect him for his influence on trumpet playing worldwide!! But when i watch some of these videos, it reminds me of this:

[maggusb]

.youtube .com/watch? v=N30WVHIxuj0

[maggusb]

@gr00vytaco I think he said "Eric Hiroshima" lmfao!!!!

[Kodee141414]

@TheDrPhresh He isn't playing lead, you idiot. Lead (1st) Trumpet and "Screamer" Trumpet are two different parts. He's playing "Screamer," but you're right, phrasing doesn't really matter to screamers. But to LEAD, it does. Everyone listens to Lead (1st) Trumpet for musicality, phrasing, and articulation and follows his example. The Lead sets up the mood of the entire song (when it's a trumpet-led song, mind you)

[tpstrat14]

Whoa. Sorry I gotta say one more time. THAT WAS WRETCHEDLY AWFUL. I commented too soon on my last one. Maynard Ferguson plays a solo like "well, I could hit the note or I couldn't. Who gives a shit if I play what I mean to"... and his whole band plays like that too. I just hope to God that the audience got their money back for this vomit-like performance.

[hpdrummer]

@tpstrat14 So he was having an off night. The guy is still an amazing player. If you found no musicality in what you heard, that sounds like your shortfall, not theirs. Instead of using 4 posts to bash this performance, why not use that time more wisely to find a recording you ENJOY hearing? If it's that much torment for you to listen to Maynard, move on to something else. Stop picking at scabs. They'll never heal.

[tpstrat14]

one trademark of ferguson's bands is play sloppy as long as you play loud. Awful music. I guess that's cause that's how Ferguson plays.. Never heard a so-called world class band miss so many notes so obnoxiously

[tpstrat14]

my goodness miyashiro just sounds awful

[tanapachi]

Eric MIYASHIRO!! BRAVO!!

[cccustommusic]

So amazing to see Maynard, in his later years, having an off night and still being able to fight for every note he possibly can. Such energy and effort, awesome.

[cccustommusic]

@12destruction12 Carl Fischer and Scott Englebright on either side of Eric

[alexdude1123]

is that patrick hessian on the left of Eric?

[tpstrat14]

ummm.. does anyone have any proof that Maynard Ferguson can play the trumpet with musicality or does he just try to play hi note nonsense all the time?? I haven't heard him play with rich, clean, beautiful tone in the middle and lower registers, but yet he's supposed to be one of the best trumpet players ever..... it's like calling Usain Bolt one of the best basketball players ever... just cause you got the best physical strength, doesn't make you the best.

[leou11]

@tpstrat14 one of many examples "STAR TREK"

[TheSaxplaya1]

i love how he can just show up in his gld jamies and make up for it with his playin lol he is just like "wat im comfortable???"

[jjohnsontrumpet]

classic maynard!

[Cowman133]

I prefer this recording: MQvRP50WWXg

[KeliteApollo]

Yeah baby- great stuff. What year was this filmed?

[6DAVIE9]

ferggie must lips of steel, bloody incredible player

[pklord75]

2:53 = :O

[GWR0]

0:15 :D

[hotchilischote]

Thanks for posting!!!

But when was that?!

[rtm22759]

2 people couldn't find birdland

[deggar25]

Worst solo ever.

No musical sense at all.

[noobiexD]

@deggar25 dont be hatin

[jlvyn13]

Holy Shit.

[PianoGod505]

0:09... wow, look mom, look what i just did!!!

[Kursevalify]

Killer bass player. Anyone know who it is?

[Drohlanlol]

it's just the light :D

[aprochek]

wait, could it be...a black man in Maynard's band? The bass player....maybe its just the light.

[Th3pr0t0type]

I've learned something from this video: Fat asians look funny when squealing on trumpet :D

[Tbone0565]

What's the date of this awesome performance?

[freeeeeeedy]

Musicality definitely finished last.

[TheEternalEvolution]

Who's the trombone? Is it Tom Garling?

[EmperorAckbar]

2:53 

[DanPlaysGuitar14]

"Eric Hiroshima?" Is that what he said? lol

[BrEaK1T1N]

my high school band played this as our marching show one year. it was the BEST marching show

[TheDrPhresh]

@BrEaK1T1N Ahhh lucky! I'm trying to get our band director to do this one!

[BrEaK1T1N]

@TheDrPhresh haha yea that was one amazing show

[ruffian1868]

( IMHO ) all the soul that Weather Report put into this tune has been mercilessly pillaged by this awful performance. Musical gymnastics does not equate to human musicality. Brass players just HAVE to play as high and fast as possible. Guitar players are the same. Every bassist has to thumb, slap and pop their way through tunes.....musical maturity is clearly absent here. When I studied music at University, this was everything I didn't want to be involved with.

[6DAVIE9]

@ruffian1868 ur such a douche! wtf man? to study music u must appreciate all music :/

[ruffian1868]

@6DAVIE9 .......I'll take your derogatory comments as a compliment. My musical appreciation is wider than most, so you can have this cacophony all to yourself. ENJOY !

[dethrising]

@6DAVIE9 If your statement of "to study music, you must appreciate all music" is true, does that mean I should appreciate Lady Gaga? Don't think so.

[MrMak2121]

@ruffian1868 wow, bad way of thinking i think this pretty good tbho its all rightly pot to place

[ruffian1868]

@MrMak2121 ......whatever ! I am safe in knowing that my musical appreciation is still wonderfully intact ! ENJOY whatever you call that kind of ( ahem ) music !

[MrMak2121]

@ruffian1868 ok now your just being unsensable i think the music is pretty good we all have our style i guess cant argu there but be more respectfull

[ruffian1868]

@MrMak2121 .....An opinion is just that. Nothing more to say.....move on !

[TheDrPhresh]

@ruffian1868 You play french horn, don't you?

[ruffian1868]

@TheDrPhresh .....how did you guess :-)

[TheDrPhresh]

@ruffian1868 Seriously? I thought you were a horn player, because horn players (generally) hate loud things, lack of phrasing and jazz in general. So I figured since all three of those things you expressed dislike towards, I assumed you were a horn player. By the way, phrasing while playing lead trumpet is a lot different then phrasing a Tchaikovsky. Listen to the articulations and tell me that doesn't take some attention to musicality. It's just different music, therefore it's played different

[ruffian1868]

@TheDrPhresh. OK....I'm not a horn player, but I do love Jazz and loud is fine by me ! The Bach trumpet is indeed a fine instrument. I'm just not into musical gymnastics ( and that's just my opinion ). I adore Weather Report, and this version is just so University in it's feel and thinking. The original is just from the streets, Jaco's playing is still ahead of it's time, and it grooves like a M.F ! This one simply leaves me cold.

[TheDrPhresh]

@ruffian1868 Different strokes for different folks. Personally, I think the CD version of this, while different, is just as good if not better than Weather Reports. Sometimes appreciating music means embracing something that may share the same name and melody as a classic, but is totally different. That is what makes Music human. An art. Expressing yourself.

[slipknotpwnz666]

@12destruction12 LOL man that is the best way to describe what he did.

[rudhess]

Here is how to ruin a beautiful music... This guy has disfigured one of the most beautiful bass lines of all time! The sky falls down on his fat head!

[saxdrummer92]

It just looks like Maynard is trying so hard when he plays anything....

[ac3ofspades12]

That tenor player is wicked good. His solo starting at 4:20 is just incredibly solid.

[eaglerat1]

@ac3ofspades12 I prefer 3:24

[AdrianDHcove]

Wow your the man Eric ! Solo's here and there! Such a classic tune!

[Gregster360]

@12destruction12 Hahahahahha!

[RockU2Death5150]

Yeah, the kid looks kinda goofy. Yeah, he's got good tone and huge range, all the tricks... but I'm waiting for him to do a riff that is frickin' amazing... never happens. I know that Maynard was probably really out of shape at this point, but he ALWAYS had a riff or run that was INCREDIBLE, whether it was WAY UP THERE or not. He had the experience to improve. Eric does NOT have that. Zzzzz...

[trombonelytrombonist]

@12destruction12 he was so impressed with himself.

[MrBassDouble]

eric iroshima is great!!!!!

[KC112358]

ya he said eric hiroshima.

[theirlinator]

Lol "eric hiroshima"

[felis58]

hah this is like the 4th arangment of this song ive heard of maynards. i like this one not my favorite but its good.

[GuyMagicFingers]

So many arrangements! Great bass-player on this.

[thobbe]

Did he say Eric Hiroshima??

[Singulitarian]

eric miyashiro

[criticismsociety]

@thobbe

Yes, please read the describing.

[selector111]

who is soloing on tenor, is that eric marienthal. If not it looks just like him

[dethrising]

@selector111 Its definitely not Marienthal. He never had a silver neck for his tenor, and his style just doesn't have that "Eric Marienthal" sound

[selector111]

@dethrising Yeah, Maynard says his name in one video but I forgot what it is, I think he is great.

[dethrising]

@selector111 Please don't shoot me for this, but I personally don't like his style that much. It's just me. I'm drawn to players that have an great sense of rhythm and melodic lines such as Cannonball, Chris Potter, Kenny Garrett, and Rollins. But its just me. Others may like the tenor player in this video.

[dethrising]

@petervincze But there are other things that make it obvious its not Marienthal. Their tone might be similar, but Eric's is darker. Go check out Eric with Lee Ritenour on Night Rhythms His sound his much darker than this guys.. And plus, Eric majority of the time taps time with his right foot. You can't miss it. This guy isn't. Definitely not Eric! :D Eric is special.

[petervincze]

@dethrising Dude, to respect Eric's life work is a must, to be open to something else is a pleasure, able to compare style with the mosts is a honour. I see you, and definitley you're right, but respect that guy's skills. He is a treasure, you know, this discussion certificate him. I wish i could play like that someone else argue i play like the giants or not. :)

[dethrising]

@petervincze I never said I don't respect his skill. I know for a fact at my current level that guy is better than I am. But his sound and style is not what I'm working towards to sound like. As I mentioned before, I dig guys like Kenny Garrett, Cannonball, Chris Potter, Sonny Rollins, Clifford Brown, Redman, Carl Saunders, etc. Now there are guys I don't their sound like Eric Dolphy. But doesn't mean I don't respect them. Purse and learn the styles you want to sound like. That my goal :D

[xarlys1]

You should have heard the band live when Maynard carried a full set of horns.

[itsgab91]

played this in jazz band. favorite!

[MrCboyz]

im playing this arrangment on the t sax for jazz band

[1000ydguy]

Who playing drums?

[justinswing]

@1000ydguy

I think that's David Trockmorton on drums.

[kdkn92]

Englebright is the best high note player in this video, outragous range and power and complete effortlessness in his playing.

[kickstah]

haha he said "eric miyashima" its miyashiro

[slipknotpwnz666]

man whos that tenor sax player. He sounds great.

[ledameron180]

Jeff Rupert. I'm in his evolution of jazz class at University of Central Florida.

[BrawlR55]

do you know his setup?

[CADOP07]

I saw MF about a year before he went up and took Gabreal's place at the pearlies. Every one of the trumpet player's seemed to be equally talented in range and creativity as Maynard. The drummer took what seemed like a 4 minute solo and i don't think he played the same riff twice. The trombones and saxes were just incredible. I've been a MF follower since the 50's when he was playing with Stan Kenton and the first scream note I heard him play was on the song Hot Canary. That started it with me

[woca90]

What a freak tenor sax !!!

[superbad1313]

Jeff Rupert, teaches at UCF in Orlando now

[jedmun1627]

Maynard ROCKS!!!!!!  As always....

[marcoq5]

Arturo Sandaval is better

[adamhawk3000]

A. He's not better.

B. His last name is spelled Sandoval.

[TrumpetRed114]

auturo sandoval?..... that are better then each other..... It just depends to your style who is better.

[TheWizardsOfJazz]

Maynard knows best, f**k the rest

[selector111]

Who is playing lead, sorta looks like scott englebright, but i can't tell

[solidleadtrpt]

That's Englebright.

[jerec576]

Most beautiful Japanese woman

[cromboldWVU]

lol

[TrumpetRed114]

?????

[KloosP]

Best MF video

[flamingdingleberry]

"Eric Hiroshima!" Lol. That was funny. I'm not sure what you guys are complaining about with Eric. Good clean player, good tone. Could probably outblow you with one lung tied behind his back.

[B17MIKE]

I'm just missinng something admitadly. Eric is good but there'ss no.. personality imho. He seems to be relying on tricks and gimicks.

[BeBop08]

I feel you

[beagleman123456789]

Yes, your so right

[ReelBigStreetlight]

style is a bit off doesnt exactly flow with the song but still amazing

[maltrumpet63]

my thoughts exactly. very good player but not much melodic thought in this solo.

[officialhopsof]

Yeah, i agree with you, it was not a very interesting solo. nothing musical about it

[bimmerfun]

Jude...That was AWESOME!!! Thanks for posting!

[Polishjazzman]

Definitely recognized a few of those guys. I met Jeff Rupert on the band around '04. What a guy. Carl was there as was Scooter. Also, I think that was Dave Throckmorton on drums. The year would be late '97 or '98. This song was called Birdland '96 so, 1986 is pretty much out of the question.

[Musicguy208]

what year was this? He has a kicking band with him. Great performance! I am so happy that i saw him live, it was only a few months before he died but he was still kicking, believe me!

[bluesguy0524]

Yeah, what year? I'm guessing 1986.

[maynardwaltrip]

This is between 1995-1998

[steevojackass]

yeah scotty was in the band in the mid 90's 95-98, so that's definitely around the right time

[Kennmalc]

Absolutely Awesome!

[rmtoyama]

ha was that eric tryin to act like that first FAT G wasn't him? maynard was lovin it

[kingcyberklutz]

YEAH, IT'S ME AGAIN.HAD TO HAVE A SECOND LOOK! I LOVE THAT AT 3:00 MAYNARD LOOKS AS BLOWN AWAY AS I WAS! THOSE TWO ARE MAGIC TOGETHER!BUT I FELT BAD FOR LEAVING ERIC OUT OF THE LAST COMMENT, CUZ HE WAS AWESOME, TOO!!!still lol! THANKS SO MUCH FOR POSTING THIS!

[kingcyberklutz]

ONLY ONE QUESTION? WHO'S THE SAXMAN WITH A 12OCTAVE RANGE?!??!!lol

[bmaniac1]

That sure looks like Jeff Ruppert. I played with him about 20 years ago with Eric Addeo and Jackie Jones. He has played with Lionel Hampton, and much work with The Fins. A top player for sure!!!!! Bill

[steevojackass]

i'm pretty sure that's englebright on lead! awesome video, pretty rare to see this type of footage. this was the best big bop band of maynards

[GozTheGreat]

Scott Engelbright is the 3rd man from the left in the "trumpet line". The section seams to be : Carl Fisher (not sure), Miyashiro, Engelbright, and X (I have still see him but I don't remind is name).

[ChiefKibitzer]

that's definitely carl fisher

[steevojackass]

so was this a DVD that's available anywhere?

[haag57]

X is Frank Abrahamson