Like many band geeks of the 1970s, we got our notion of what was possible with a wind instrument expanded by Ferguson's ever-expanding range of pitches, dynamics and styles. Attending one of his thousands of performances -- most, it seemed, given in high school auditoriums that felt like a regathering of the kids we met weeks before at all-state band rehearsals or state solo and ensemble contest -- was the social and cultural highlight of our personal That 70s Show.
But we can't say it better than it has been said by David Von Drehle of the WaPo, whose tribute needs to be read in full by all Ferguson aficionados but which we exerpt here:
Ferguson lit up thousands of young horn players, most of them boys, with pride and excitement. In a 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 -- 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 -- choose your masculine archetype....
Maynard Ferguson did his best to blow some hormones back into the band room. Along the way, he turned a fair number of us on to the more subtle achievements of more refined musicians. For that, we forgive all the reverb and rayon, all the electronics, even the lamentable disco phase.
3 comments:
waay back in high school (20 years ago) during my jazz band tenure (keyboard), i had the privilege of seeing ferguson play and was completely blown away by his rendition of Joe Zawinul's Birdland - he was doing the big band / fusion thing at the time (it wasn't really fusion as we know it, but he was really pushing it with some hard, aggressive jazz-rock) and i was impressed.
his recordings were hit or miss around this time, though. he was straining too hard to hit the high stuff for my taste. i had just discovered billy cobham, return to forever, mahavishnu, herbie hancock's headhunters and weather report.
sadly i didn't give maynard much of a chance. what's a high school student to do? when you want your fusion AND your deep purple and AC/DC your LP money only goes so far!
for all you kids out there, LP's were vinyl records that played at 33 1/3 and got scratched, melted in direct sunlight and had a warm analog sound that just can't be found on CD's.
here's a wikipedia entry about it that made me feel old.
RIP maynard
Excellent tribute in WaPo! It seems to me that many people who have heard him play in the last decade or so haven't really heard Maynard. Those who think he was all scream and no technique should listen to some recordings of him playing with Kenton's band. I would recommend an album called (I think) "More Artistry in Rhythm". It features a long piece called Prologue (This Is an Orchestra!)which introduces each individual in the orchestra for a solo and he saves Maynard for last. (as an aside it also features Frank Rossolino on trombone - also worth the purchase price) At that point in time he was scream WITH technique. A truly astonishing performer.
I was in the restroom at Applebees yesterday and heard one of his songs on the Muzak. It made me feel warm all over. Or I guess the warmth could have come from all of the straining.
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