Maynard Ferguson

Maynard Ferguson (born May 4, 1928 in Montreal, Canada) is a jazz trumpet player and bandleader. He came to prominence playing in Stan Kenton's orchestra, before forming his own band in 1957. He is noted for being able to play accurately in a remarkably high range.

Related Topics:
May 4 - 1928 - Montreal - Canada - Jazz - Trumpet - Bandleader - Stan Kenton - 1957

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He was born in Verdun, Quebec (now part of Montreal). Encouraged by his mother and father, Maynard was playing piano and violin by the age of four. At nine years old, Maynard heard a trumpet for the first time in his local church and asked his parents to purchase him one. He won a scholarship to the French Conservatory of Music where he received formal training and in 1941, at age thirteen, Maynard soloed as a child prodigy with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Orchestra. During his teen years, he led a band in Montreal. In 1949, he moved to the United States in hopes of joining Stan Kenton's big band in New York City.

Related Topics:
Verdun - Quebec - Piano - Violin - French Conservatory of Music - Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - Montreal - 1949 - United States - Stan Kenton - New York City

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Kenton's band was broken up at this point, so Ferguson began playing with Boyd Raeburn, Jimmy Dorsey, and Charlie Barnet. In 1950, Stan Kenton formed his new Innovations Orchestra in Los Angeles with Ferguson as his star attraction. After the Innovations experiment proved a commercial failure, Ferguson stayed in the Kenton organization through its shift back into touring as a jazz big band, although he was still too young to travel with the band, and was separately driven by his parents behind the band's bus. By 1954, Maynard left the Innovations Orchestra to work for Paramount Pictures on film soundtracks in Hollywood. He played such notable films as The Ten Commandments.

Related Topics:
Boyd Raeburn - Jimmy Dorsey - Charlie Barnet - 1950 - Innovations Orchestra - Los Angeles - Paramount Pictures - Film - Hollywood - The Ten Commandments

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After leaving the Innovations Orchestra, Ferguson began playing and living outside North America, with extended periods in England and India, before returning to the U.S. in 1974. His recording of "Gonna Fly Now", the theme from the movie Rocky won him a Grammy nomination in 1978. Since, Ferguson has primarily led his own bands, including his fusion band High Voltage and his latest big band Big Bop Nouveau.

Related Topics:
England - India - U.S. - Gonna Fly Now - Rocky - Grammy - Big Bop Nouveau

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Maynard Ferguson is one of the handful of musician/bandleaders to survive the end of the big band era and Rock and Roll. While never a household name, and with little popular success, excluding "Gonna Fly Now," he demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt musically. His albums show a progression from big band swing, bebop, cool jazz, latin, jazz/rock, fusion with classical and operatic influences. He enjoyed a remarkable resurgence in the 1970's when he embraced jazz/rock, especially through the album Chameleon. Though this phase is often derided by jazz purists, it attracted a new generation of young school musicians to jazz.

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Known for his ability to play in the upper ranges of the trumpet, fans thrill to hear him reach a "double-high C". Another signature which is rarely duplicated by other musicians is a trill of a four note range, vice the typical (and more stable) 3 note range. Ferguson has been accused of not being experimental in music styles, but has been successful adapting and improvising on other's compositions. He did develop two unique instruments - a trumpet with both traditional valves (played with the left hand rather than the right) and trombone style slide called the 'Firebird' as well as a trombone with both a slide & valves called 'Superbone'. The India experience deeply touched him, and he regularly incorporated Indian instruments and influences in albums and concerts, often ending with the ringing of a temple bell.

Related Topics:
Trill - Superbone

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After Maynard Ferguson's return to the U.S. in the 1970's, he has been able to sustain the big band experience on tour by recruiting talented college musicians, and teaching in high school auditoriums and conducting master classes. Though touring with a lean band of 10 - 12 musicians, Maynard is a crowd pleaser with dedicated fans. He has been known to keep the band riffing on the final tune while he takes the time to shake the hand of every cheering fan in the audience.

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