Walter Maynard Ferguson CM was born on May 4, 1928, and passed away on August 23, 2006. He was a Canadian jazz musician who played the trumpet and led musical groups. He became well-known for performing with Stan Kenton's orchestra before starting his own large band in 1957. He was recognized for his musical groups, which helped young musicians begin their careers, his ability to play many different instruments, and his skill in playing very high notes.

Biography

Maynard Ferguson was born in Verdun, which is now part of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His parents encouraged him to learn piano and violin when he was four years old. At nine years old, he heard a cornet played during a church service and asked his parents to buy one for him. When he was thirteen, he performed solos with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Orchestra. He was often heard on the CBC, especially on a piece called "Serenade for Trumpet in Jazz," which was written for him by Morris Davis. He won a scholarship to the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal, where he studied from 1943 to 1948 with Bernard Baker.

Ferguson left high school in Montreal at fifteen to focus on his music career. He played in dance bands led by Stan Wood, Roland David, and Johnny Holmes. Although trumpet was his main instrument, he also played other brass and reed instruments. He took over a dance band formed by his brother, Percy, and performed in the Montreal area. He also opened shows for touring bands from Canada and the U.S. During this time, American bandleaders noticed his talent and offered him opportunities to move to the U.S.

In 1948, Ferguson moved to the United States to join Stan Kenton’s band, but it no longer existed. Instead, he played with bands led by Boyd Raeburn, Jimmy Dorsey, and Charlie Barnet. The Barnet band included musicians like Doc Severinsen, Ray Wetzel, Johnny Howell, and Rolf Ericson. Ferguson was featured on Barnet’s recording of "All The Things You Are" by Jerome Kern. The recording upset Kern’s widow, and it was taken off sale.

In January 1950, Kenton formed the Innovations Orchestra, a 40-piece jazz orchestra with strings. After the Barnet band ended, Ferguson joined the first rehearsal of the Innovations Orchestra on January 1. One of the Orchestra’s recordings was named "Maynard Ferguson," a piece dedicated to him. When Kenton returned to a smaller 19-piece jazz band, Ferguson stayed with him and performed many solos. Notable recordings from this time include "Invention for Guitar and Trumpet," "What's New?," and "The Hot Canary."

In 1953, Ferguson left Kenton and became the principal trumpet player for Paramount Pictures. He played on 46 film soundtracks, including The Ten Commandments. He also performed on other films with jazz scores, such as Living It Up and You're Never Too Young. His Paramount contract prevented him from playing in jazz clubs, so he sometimes used fake names like "Tiger Brown" or "Foxy Corby" to perform. He left Paramount in 1956 because he missed live performances.

Ferguson played with the Pérez Prado Orchestra on the LP Havana 3 A.M., recorded in 1956. In the same year, he joined the Birdland Dream Band, a 14-piece big band formed by Morris Levy. The band included musicians like Mike Abene, Jaki Byard, Bill Chase, Ronnie Cuber, Frankie Dunlop, Don Ellis, Joe Farrell, Dusko Goykovich, Tony Inzalaco, Rufus Jones, Willie Maiden, Ron McClure, Rob McConnell, Don Menza, Lanny Morgan, Wayne Shorter, and Joe Zawinul. Some members, like Herb Geller, Slide Hampton, Bill Holman, and Don Sebesky, also arranged music for the band.

In 1959, Ferguson performed with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Leonard Bernstein, playing Symphony No. 2 in C "Titans" by William Russo. In 1961, he composed the theme music for the ABC series Straightaway and released an album with the same name.

As big bands became less popular in the 1960s, Ferguson’s band performed less often. He felt limited by the lack of musical change and noticed that audiences preferred familiar songs like "Maria" or "Ole." He began performing with a smaller group and ended his big band in 1966.

In 1963, Ferguson moved his family to Millbrook, New York, to live with Timothy Leary and Ram Dass. He used psychedelic drugs like LSD and psilocybin during this time. He lived there for about three years, playing clubs and recording albums. He was mentioned in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, a book about the psychedelic movement.

In 1967, Ferguson moved his family to India and taught at the Rishi Valley School, which was based on the ideas of Krishnamurti. He also helped start the Boys Brass Band at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. He was influenced by Sathya Sai Baba, whom he considered his spiritual teacher.

As a Canadian in England, Ferguson avoided a union rule that banned American musicians. In 1969, he moved to Oakley Green, near London, and signed with CBS Records. He formed a big band with British musicians that played jazz rock. The band gained attention for its version of "MacArthur Park" by Jim Webb. The band made its North American debut in 1971.

In 1970, Ferguson led the band on The Simon Dee Show from London Weekend Television. In 1973, he moved to New York City and later to Ojai, California. He replaced British musicians with Americans and reduced his band to twelve members. Albums from this time include M.F. Horn 4&5: Live At Jimmy's and Chameleon, recorded in 1973 and 1974. He hired musicians from colleges with jazz programs, such as Berklee College of Music, North Texas State University, and the University of Miami. He performed for young audiences and taught classes, helping build a loyal fan base.

In 1975, Ferguson worked with Bob James on successful albums with large groups of session

Personal life

In 1973, Ferguson moved to Ojai, California, where he lived until his death. His first wife was singer Kay Brown. He married Flo Ferguson in 1956, and their marriage continued until her death on February 27, 2005. Ferguson had four daughters: Kim, Corby, Lisa, and Wilder, and a son named Bentley, who died before his parents. Kim Ferguson helped manage his career for 15 years during the 1970s and 1980s with her husband and producer, Jim Exon. Wilder Ferguson is married to Christian Jacob, a jazz pianist, film composer, and former member of Big Bop Nouveau. Lisa Ferguson works as a writer and film maker in Los Angeles. At the time of his death, Ferguson had two granddaughters, Erica and Sandra.

Ferguson passed away due to kidney and liver failure on August 23, 2006, at the Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, California.

Versatility

Ferguson's main instrument was the trumpet, but he often played other brass instruments, especially the valve trombone, which is not very common. He worked with bandleader Russell Garcia on several recordings that included a group of four trombonists, and Ferguson played only the valve trombone in these sessions. Photos and album covers from the 1950s showed Ferguson with four instruments: trumpet, valve trombone, baritone horn, and French horn. Few recordings of the baritone horn and French horn remain. The French horn was no longer used later in his career, but the baritone horn was heard on the 1974 album Chameleon. He used the combination valve/slide Superbone and flugelhorn on all his albums except the last one.

Ferguson created two instruments: the Firebird and the Superbone. Trumpeter Rajesh Mehta purchased the Firebird while living in Amsterdam and played it from 1998 until 2011, when he asked American maker George Schlub to design a new trumpet called the Orka-M Naga Phoenix. The Superbone was a mix of a trombone and additional valves, played with the left hand. Ferguson included Indian musical instruments and styles in his work.

Ferguson was not the first trumpeter to play very high notes, as others like Cat Anderson had done before. However, he could play these high notes with a full, rich sound, strength, and musical skill. In interviews, he explained that his ability to play high notes came mostly from controlling his breath, a skill he learned as a young man in Montreal. He said his long-lasting technique was helped by spiritual practices and yoga he studied in India.

Ferguson added charm to a musical style often viewed as cold and intellectual. His obituary in The Washington Post stated:

Awards and honors

In 2003, Ferguson was named a Member of the Order of Canada.

From 1950 to 1952, Ferguson won the DownBeat Readers' Poll for top trumpeter. In 1992, he was added to the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame.

In 1976, Ferguson played a special solo on the trumpet during the closing ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada, known as the XXI Olympiad.

In 2000, Ferguson became a member of Kappa Kappa Psi at the Gamma Xi Chapter at the University of Maryland at College Park. In 2006, he received the Charles E. Lutton Man of Music Award from Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia at its national convention in Cleveland, Ohio. He had been named an honorary member of the Xi Chi Chapter at Tennessee Tech University in 1976.

The "Maynard Ferguson Institute of Jazz Studies" at Rowan University was started in 2000, the same year Rowan University gave Ferguson an Honorary Doctorate degree. The institute, led by Ferguson's friend Denis Diblasio, helps train young jazz musicians through the Rowan Jazz Program.

In 2000, Ferguson received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. He also helped create the Maynard Ferguson Institute of Jazz Studies, which is managed by Denis DiBlasio in the university's College of Performing Arts. The Sherman Jazz Museum in Sherman, Texas, opened in 2010 and displays memorabilia from Ferguson's life.

After Ferguson passed away, members of his band, including trumpeters Wayne Bergeron, Patrick Hession, and Eric Miyashiro, came together for a memorial concert.

Discography

• 1955 – Jam Session featuring Maynard Ferguson (EmArcy)
• 1956 – Maynard Ferguson's Hollywood Party (EmArcy)
• 1956 – Around the Horn with Maynard Ferguson (EmArcy)
• 1956 – Dimensions (EmArcy)
• 1955 – Maynard Ferguson Octet (EmArcy)
• 1957 – Maynard Ferguson and His Birdland Dream Band
• 1957 – The Birdland Dream Band, Vol. 2
• 1957 – Boy with Lots of Brass (EmArcy)
• 1958 – Swingin' My Way Through College (Roulette)
• 1958 – A Message from Newport (Roulette)
• 1959 – A Message from Birdland (Roulette)
• 1959 – Maynard Ferguson Plays Jazz for Dancing (Roulette)
• 1960 – Newport Suite (Roulette)
• 1960 – Let's Face the Music and Dance (Roulette)
• 1961 – Maynard '61 (Roulette)
• 1961 – Double Exposure with Chris Connor (Atlantic)
• 1961 – "Straightaway" Jazz Themes (Roulette)
• 1961 – Two's Company with Chris Connor (Roulette)
• 1962 – Maynard '62 (Roulette)
• 1962 – Si! Si! M.F. (Roulette)
• 1963 – The New Sounds of Maynard Ferguson (Cameo)
• 1963 – Message from Maynard (Roulette)
• 1963 – Maynard '63 (Roulette)
• 1964 – Maynard '64 (Roulette)
• 1964 – Come Blow Your Horn (Cameo)
• 1964 – Color Him Wild (Mainstream) – Reissued as Dues
• 1964 – The Blues Roar (Mainstream) – Reissued as Screamin' Blues
• 1965 – The Maynard Ferguson Sextet (Mainstream) – Reissued as Six By Six and as Magnitude with bonus tracks
• 1966 – Ridin' High (Enterprise)
• 1967 – Trumpet Rhapsody (MPS) – Reissued as Maynard Ferguson 1969
• 1968 – The Ballad Style of Maynard Ferguson (CBS)
• 1968 – Maynard and Gustav (Supraphon)
• 1970 – M.F. Horn (Columbia) – also released as The World of Maynard Ferguson
• 1971 – Maynard Ferguson (Columbia) – also released as Alive and Well in London
• 1972 – M.F. Horn Two (Columbia)
• 1973 – M.F. Horn 3 (Columbia)
• 1974 – M.F. Horn 4&5: Live At Jimmy's (Columbia)
• 1974 – Chameleon (Columbia)
• 1976 – Primal Scream (Columbia)
• 1977 – Conquistador (Columbia)
• 1977 – New Vintage (Columbia)
• 1978 – Carnival (Columbia)
• 1979 – Hot (Columbia)
• 1980 – It's My Time (Columbia)
• 1981 – Hollywood (Columbia)
• 1983 – Storm (Palo Alto)
• 1983 – Live from San Francisco from the Great American Music Hall (Palo Alto)
• 1986 – Body and Soul
• 1987 – High Voltage (Intima)
• 1988 – High Voltage 2 (Intima)
• 1990 – Big Bop Nouveau (Intima)
• 1992 – Footpath Cafe (Avion)
• 1994 – Live from London
• 1994 – Live at Peacock Lane Hollywood 1957 (Jazz Hour)
• 1994 – These Cats Can Swing (Concord)
• 1995 – Live at the Great American Music Hall Part 2 (Status)
• 1996 – One More Trip to Birdland (Concord)
• 1998 – Brass Attitude (Concord)
• 1999 – Big City Rhythms with Michael Feinstein
• 2001 – Swingin' for Schuur with Diane Schuur (Concord)
• 2006 – M.F. Horn VI: Live at Ronnie's
• 2007 – The One and Only

• The Wild One (1953)
• Living It Up (1954)
• Rear Window (1954)
• You're Never Too Young (1955)
• Oreste (short) (1955)
• The Man With The Golden Arm (1955)
• Blackboard Jungle (1955)
• The Ten Commandments (1956)
• Crime in the Streets (1956)
• The Proud and Profane (1956)
• Hot Rod Girl (1956)
• Dino (film) (1957)
• The Delicate Delinquent (1957)
• Hot Rod Rumble (1957)
• Singin' and Swingin' (short) (1961)
• Urbanissimo (short) (1966)
• Indian Summer (1972)
• Uncle Joe Shannon (1978)

• Belafonte (1955)
• Calypso (1956)

• Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings (Verve, 1956)
• Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Songbook (Verve, 1956)
• Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Rodgers and Hart Songbook (Verve, 1956)
• Jerry Lewis Just Sings (Capitol, 1956)
• Swinging Kicks (Verve, 1957)
• Boy Meets Girl (Verve, 1957)

• Four Horns and Lush Life (Japan) (Bethlehem, 1955)
• Russ Garcia and his Four Trombone Band (Fresh Sound)

• Innovations in Modern Music (Capitol, 1950)
• Stan Kenton Presents Christian Jacob (Concord, 1997)
• Stan Kenton Presents Tom Gar