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OT: Memorial: Maynard Ferguson


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He was a legend to every trumpet player I know... Always will have a fond place for Maynard... RIP...

On the upside... Heaven just got one heck of a screamer... lol... The Angel Band must be pretty ridiculous...

Edited by SCVsopAaron
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I am very sad at this news. I had the privilege to interview Maynard several times. He was always funny, friendly and ALWAYS took time out of the interview to stress the value of music education in the public schools.

Ed Sargent was very good to make sure that I had plenty of time with Maynard because he enjoyed our talks and liked what we had done for him.

My heartfelt sympathies to his family, friends and bandmates.

Bless You, Maynard!

:angel:

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I got to hear Maynard many times over the years, including just 4 months ago. He was still an amazing player at the age of 78! In his later years he had become very spiritual and his health seemed to be much better. I know he talked

about how he felt better than he had in many years.

I don't have the exact web location, but if you do a search on YOUTUBE.COM of Stan Kenton, they have a video of

Maynard's first television appearance with the Kenton band (Ed Sullivan show I think.) Stan certainly new Maynard

was headed for great things.

He's certainly one of the greats from that era...and sadly, not many left. R.I.P. Maynard

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Unless other people start doing it I won't take a huge amount of time remembering him. BUT, I will say this--there have been several points in my life that Maynard was a "part" of. I was DEFINITELY a "Fanaddict for Ferguson" (and if you TRULY were a Ferguson fan, than you'd know what I was talking about...), and I have a BOATLOAD of stories about him. He was often criticized "under the breath" by other jazz folks because his concerts more often resembled rock concerts and his albums reflected the current hip movement of music than anything. And yeah, he produced some REAL stinker songs on some of his albums as well...but there was NO DENYING his talent, his LOVE of performance, his UNBELIEVABLE influence on high school and college brass players (and probably other players as well), and his GREAT personality too. I think the highlight of my entire musical career up to that point was to actually meet him, shake his hand, talk to him, and just HANG with him....when I was a JUNIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL!! You think I wasn't on Cloud 9! And he was TOTALLY cool with this geeky 11 grade trombonist.

This is a very sad day--like I said, Maynard was an absolute IDOL to me, and I loved the man. I'm going to miss him. Very sad for me right now...

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Well, MAD alumni did Macarthur Park, didn't they? That's a start...wish MF could have been there for that.

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The loss of another great Canadian. :(

We used to go the the round theater at Seneca College in Toronto and he would perform in Blast! style - with his trumpet players coming down the ailse and playing in-your-face music. It was amazing. Before he moved to the U.S., he was Canadian Drum Corps God.

He will be missed.

:angel:

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Truly sad news. Maybard was one of the giants in the music biz. Perhaps using the word "Giant" is an understatement...he was probably bigger than that.

I first heard Maynard in the late 1970s and I was completely overtaken and blown away by the music, his solos, his range, his style, his sound. So much of what he did from the late 1950s to this day has turned to Gold. This man was perhaps THE most popular trumpet player in the world from 1965 to 1995, maybe more. Easily 30 years in a row. That's just rediculous.

His influence on drum and bugle corps and band is unparalleled. I don't know of any musician out there who's music has inspired more field arrangements, not to mention the players he has inspired. In a day and age when so much of todays' music is popular for say 5 to 10 years, maybe, Maynard had tunes and albums that have remained popular from the time they were recorded and released to this very day.

Finally, while a lot of trumpet players can play high, and perhaps a few could player higher, like "Cat" Anderson, NONE could play up there with such a rich sound and power the way Maynard could. As a band leader, composer, musician, pioneer in jazz, latin, fusion, rock, and as one of the greatest big band leaders ever, I salute you, Maynard! May God look over you and your family. You are definitely one of the people that got me to love music.

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Got to see the great Maynard perform 4 times - 3 at nightclubs in the Boston area. At Berkelee College of Music he presented a scholorship to a trumpet student and, almost as an after-thought, handed him the horn he had been performing on. (He kept the mouthpiece, I noticed).

:angel:

RIP, Maynard

A (very partial) list of drum corps covers of his songs - I'll start

Strawberry Soup

Chameleon

MacArthur's Park

Gonna Fly Now

Birdland

You guys can continue the list.

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