Maynard Ferguson - Country Road

Walter Maynard Ferguson, best know for his extreme high register control on trumpet, was a Canadian jazz trumpet player and bandleader. Born in Verdun, Quebec (now part of Montreal) Maynard by the age of four was playing piano and violin but at 9 years of age he switched to cornet. At age thirteen, Maynard 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. Maynard won a scholarship to the French Conservatory of Music where he studied from 1943 through 1948 with Bernard Baker. Maynard 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. During this period, Maynard came to the attention of numerous American bandleaders and began receiving offers to come to the United States. Maynard moved to the United States in 1949 and 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 Erickson. When Barnet temporarily retired in 1949 and disbanded his orchestra, Maynard was free to accept an offer to join Stan Kenton's newly formed Innovations Orchestra, a 40-piece jazz concert orchestra with strings. 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, Maynard continued with him. So popular was Maynard with Kenton that for three years running, 1950, 1951, and 1952, he won the Down Beat Readers' Poll as best trumpeter. In 1953, Maynard left Kenton to become a first-call session player for Paramount Pictures. Ferguson appeared on 46 soundtracks including The Ten Commandments. Ferguson still recorded jazz during this period, but his Paramount contract prevented him from playing jazz clubs. While he enjoyed the regular paycheck, Ferguson was very unhappy with the lack of live performance opportunities and left Paramount in 1956. In 1956, Maynard was tapped to lead 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 in New York City. While the name "Birdland Dream Band" was short-lived and is represented by only two albums, this band became the core of Maynard's performing band for the next nine years. Following the path taken by many jazz artists in the 1960s, Ferguson left the United States. Feeling that he needed a period of spiritual exploration. Maynard formed a new band and it made its North American debut in 1971. Maynard latched on to the burgeoning jazz education movement by recruiting talented musicians from colleges with jazz programs and targeting young audiences with performances and master classes in high schools. This practical and strategic move helped him develop a strong following that would sustain him for the remainder of his career. In 1988, Maynard formed the group Big Bop Nouveau, a nine-piece band featuring three trumpets, one trombone, two reeds and a three-piece rhythm section. The band's repertoire included original jazz compositions and modern arrangements of jazz standards, with occasional pieces from his '70s book and the Birdland Dream Band; this format proved to be successful with audiences and critics. In 1992, he was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame. Just days after completing a weeklong run at New York's Blue Note and recording a studio album in New Jersey, Maynard developed an abdominal infection that resulted in kidney and liver failure. Ferguson died on the evening of August 23, 2006 at the Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, California.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Walter
• Maynard
• Ferguson
• Lead
• Trumpet
• Screamin'
• Jazz
• Country
• Road

[Sparpartner]

Fan--Flippin-Tastic

Rest in Peace Maynard--I was privileged to see you in concert not long too long before you left us.

Great Tune here--I have worn my cassette out--this recording is only presently available on LP or cassette.

Great Music--great life.

Hope folks will remember me with similar fondness.

Thanks again Maynard.

God Bless.

Nathan T.

[thescribe13]

excellent song, and i love the biography in the description.

Thanks so much for this one, malawolf.

R.I.P. Maynard, may you never be forgotten. You are and always will be a hero to trumpet players and other musicians everywhere.

[tmz714zmt]

This is an amazing James Taylor tune. To hear it being done be Maynard...Beyond epically awesome

[wildsugarboy]

"Take to the highway, won't you lend me your name. Your way and my way seem to be one and the same. Mamma don't under stand it, she wants to know where I've been. I'd have to be some kind of natural born fool to wanna pass that way again, but I could feel it..."

[74choppzilla]

@Sparpartner this is available on cd if you go to the manyard website.its also on amazon.com you can buy it or download it.

[scraps270]

played bass trombone high school jazz band 76.77 comes in at 0.46 epic

[cutandweld67]

@yachtzzuuup I'm right there with you our high school band played it about 83,84 .three went on to be professionals one was our trumpet player he's still gigging in the Austin texas area.

[mstroup]

I caught one of his later concerts, when he wasn't as commanding on the heights as he was when he was younger. I really enjoyed it but I wondered what it would have sounded like a few decades earlier. I have most of his albums and find something in each one that makes me smile inside. I miss Maynard!

[chicagodiceman]

I was fortunate enough to have Maynard perform at my high school in '74. Will always remember how it felt to have the "clinic" prior to the concert and what I learned from that brief time. Whether you like him or not, he always made it clear that the performance was most important. As I went on to play professionally, I always remembered how important the performance was.

RIP Maynard and thank you for your appreciation and understanding how important music can be!

[johnmrog]

Learned to love Maynard way back in 1973. Bought MF Horn and MF Horn 2 that year and still own the LP's. Saw him in concert in 1974, 1976, and 1980. I was honored indeed. RIP Maynard.

[CantinaCobra]

man how i would have loved to be at one of his concerts

[yachtzzuuup]

one of my favorites -- we played this in High School 1979, 1980, 1981 -- our bass guitar player Mike Kelly and Drummer Mike Licata went on and perform professionally