"What's New" by Maynard Ferguson with the Stan Kenton Orchestra, Reaction/Analysis

[@JazzR31]

The Kenton years were the golden age of Maynard. Pure trumpet mastery, musicality and that “steely” sound that no other lead player comes close too in my humble opinion.

[@JayScott-ze8mc]

Oh, how we worshiped MF in high school. Everything I did, from jazz band, to marching band, to drum corps was all about building range, power and flexibility. I can't complain...it paid for my education.

[@blkbushirishwhiskey]

I saw him in concert 9 times, and the energy he brought to the stage, even near the end, was incredible. Ridiculous notes.

[@jonshannon7096]

You listen and you get impressed, then you see the transcript and you’re like 😳.

[@sisleymichael]

I went to several of his clinics. He was a force of his own.

[@ok-qt4kr]

Appreciate your love for such undeniable brilliance, Jeff !

[@billbryant1288]

I got to meet him backstage after a concert in 1974. The very definition of "left it all on the field."

[@jimbarlow7978]

I Played trumpet in high school 75-79. We all worshipped Maynard. He was the best. Saw him live 3 times. Had every album. Got to shake his hand in the Carnation plaza at Disneyland. The good old days.

[@StrateleStudios]

👏👏👏

[@waynestephens6505]

I was in drum corps too! 1975 and 1976 with Guardsmen from Illinois. Also trumpet in high school. We loved Maynard. I saw twice in the 70's and once in the early 90's. This selection shows the great power of Maynard Ferguson! So glad I saw this post🎉😊❤

[@medannylee1]

I had the same experience as you. Maynard, Tower of Power (Horn Section), Tonight Show Band, etc. Growing up playing trumpet, he was the man.

[@davidlevine1697]

Maynard was awesome, another jazz great that i got to see perform thanks to my dad who did a stint as the bass player in the Tito Puente band.

[@claudedimarco2445]

Ah, the unmistakable sound of Maynard Ferguson. I saw him live several times. He always brought the house down. So many great songs including Chameleon, Pagliacci and of course, Birdland.

[@StrateleStudios]

Birdland was one of my favorites!

[@bnjmnwst]

I liked his versions of the Rocky and Star Trek themes. So quirky.

[@rontiemens2553]

It was his intro, but nothing got the blood pumping with anticipation like “Blue Birdland”. Maynard had the greatest entrance in show business. Electric.

[@annasylvester4516]

The first time i heard Maynard was at the Notre Dame jazz festival when i was in college. I was with a bunch of my music major buddies and i was blown away. Thanks for bringing back a great memory!

[@dbcanada]

Thanks, Jeff. I saw Maynard in concert back in the early 70s. What a great show it was. To me, he and Bud Brisbois were the best high note trumpet players.

[@johntapscott4528]

Apparently, Shorty Rogers wrote this arrangement because some people were saying that Maynard couldn’t play in the lower register. Hah! This is a prime example of why one very knowledgable and experienced symphony trumpet player called Maynard “the greatest brass player of the 20th century”. The track is still spine-tingling and even more when you “see” it.

[@chrisbauder3327]

He came and did a gig at my college in 1978, and he played like this most of the night...all the while swigging champagne out of a Solo cup!

[@ok-qt4kr]

Stan Kenton played the Summer Outdoor venues every year , as I was growing up. Drummer Peter Erskine played for Both Kenton & Ferguson before Weather Report , John Abercrombie et al . Such Supreme mastery ...all of them . Love Arturo Sandoval also , who's carrying on Maynard's mind blowing upper register !

[@bnjmnwst]

I was also a huge fan of MF in high school. I was in jazz band, as well as concert & marching bands, and I played trumpet. I was blessed to see & hear Maynard live in about 1988 or 89 in Fairhope, Alabama. Such a great performer, even at that point. That guy was one of a kind.

[@redrum482]

Great reaction! THE BOSS.

[@beagleman123456789]

Maynard was the Best ❤

[@rontiemens2553]

Culpeper, VA High School, 1977. Maynard and his band were absolutely in the zone, and Maynard played a 90 minute set and he absolutely was in the screaming zone for the entire time. I have never, EVER seen a musical performance like that before or since. I don’t know if I have seen an ATHLETIC performance like that. There are many great trumpet players who can play amazingly in the upper register. Maynard is the only one I know of who could do it for hours, night after night after night. Unlike some other bandleaders of his era, Maynard understood that if jazz is anything, it ought to be fun. His whole band had FUN playing at such a high level of technical excellence and intensity. I never met Maynard, but I loved him. Thank you, Jeff, for this channel. It is important.

[@StrateleStudios]

Well said!

[@maynardferguson_aficionado6309]

🎺You Get it More than Most ‼️ 🌠💫Yes, Living on the Road 🛣️ in a Bus most of the time, criss-crossing the lower 48 & World 🌎 Tours also, prove his Stamina, Energy, Commitment and Love of His Fans / Audience 🌅

[@JT-wn7wb]

Memories great times great music!! Thank you for keeping it alive!

[@bashirphy1862]

The raw power, just incredible!

[@cabrik6271]

I played trumpet in Jr. High and High School band as well as the all city stage/jazz band. I was fortunate enough to get the Maynard Fergusson mouthpiece which helped to be able to hit those high tripple C

[@1225KPH]

Listen to Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me. Maynard stays in the high range throughout the entire song.

[@gregmoss679]

There are people that can hit the notes, but nobody touches the abandon and size of his sound. I know someone who stood next to him as he played with Sandoval and a few other players. In 2002. He said Maynard's sound was so big it didn't even sound like the same instrument. After one of the songs Sandovol turned to my friend and said, "I feel like I'm playing a toy trumpet when I play next to him".

[@Funwithhighnotes]

True story. I’ve been 10 feet from his bell and it’s incredible. Also been just as close to Jon Faddis’s bell and he gives Maynard a run for his money as far as power/loud goes.

[@davenelms68]

Thanks for posting man, I have played trumpet all my life. He was amazing, saw him live about 6 times in the 70's and 80's. McCarthur's Park by him always my favorite.

[@michaelmcconnell448]

There is another Maynard Ferguson solo from the Stan kitten band and it’s just entitled Maynard Ferguson so if you do a search for Stan Canton and just put Maynard Ferguson it should come up and that’s very stunning as well

[@StephenBarry-zm9ks]

That was too fun. Saw him in the 80's at U. At Buffalo and was completely blown away. I believe he passed shortly after that.

[@michaelgwfrogwelge]

Nah... He had his Be Bop Nouveau Band into the 21st Century... Died of kidney and liver failure in 2006.

[@rontiemens2553]

@@michaelgwfrogwelgeBig Bop Nouveau.

[@beagleman123456789]

Go to his Message From Newport albums.

[@TomBagwell]

Another big Maynard Ferguson fan from late '70s - band trumpet player. (Including Jazz Band.) Saw Maynard live several times and Doc Severinsonas well. I have a lot of his albums, but I also hadn't heard this piece before. Thanks!

[@arminsteinke2301]

He was in his twenties and a cash cow for Stan Kentons Band. BeBop phrasing in that register was kinda jaw dropping in the 1950....until today.

[@rgbenge7580]

Dude, Maynard Ferguson? Really? You hit a nerve here. I was another MF Fanatic in high school/college and the last 40 years. People think he was only a high note guy. Try out Fox Hunt from the MF 4/5 album. He does a duet with Bob Summers and they lay down serious fast bop lines without going high (for the most part). Also, he does a duet with Chick Corea on the Primal Scream album called Cheshire Cat. Chick plays synth and MF trade lines in a fusion masterpiece.

[@StrateleStudios]

👏👏👏🫶

[@JT-wn7wb]

Hi Jeff love what you ‘re doing !!! Please play Ted Heath I’ll never be the same trumpet solo Bert Ezzard. Masterpiece. Thank you !

[@philpiper]

Totaly agree. Ted Heath's trumpet section with Bobby Pratt and Bert Ezzard was phenominal. One of my favourites is "Stardust".

[@Funwithhighnotes]

Pretty sure he was only 22 or 23 years old when this was recorded. In his 20’s he was ridiculous. He would play above the staff, 8va, the entire song. Not as accurate or as powerful (or tasteful lol) as his later years, but crazy endurance and stamina.

[@jimbizness3864]

I'm impressed, Jeff! You get L&F, AND obviously understand Maynard's outrageous playing. I've been a fan of MF for over 50 years, but never heard this one! You must have been a brass player to relate to this so well?

[@StrateleStudios]

Thanks so much! Actually, my best buddy in high school was a trumpet player and we have many conversations about brass players. I was in percussion section. He really opened my eyes to mega talents like Maynard! (Thank you Mark Cuevas!)

[@jimbizness3864]

@@StrateleStudios I am a drummer, but also played some trumpet. Enough to understand the craziness of this recording. You are correct. MF was a stronger, cleaner player back when was on the Kenton band. That type of playing does not lend itself to older performers! Still, he was pretty amazing through the 1960s and 70s. Your observations about Igor (they actually call him "Javad") are spot on. He is a master technician. He practices complex patterns, has excellent hands, etc. Unfortunately, when I met him a few years ago, he spoke virtually zero English.

[@harryrodriguez-coll4040]

Hi. If you want to listen to more of what you just heard try Maynard Ferguson's Wow, The Formative Years cd which includes 21 original mono recordings from 1919-1956. Enjoy!!!

[@harryrodriguez-coll4040]

Woops, is 1949-1956

[@Funwithhighnotes]

Agree 100%.

[@pepevisedo7304]

Maynard is, without a doubt, one of the trumpet players who could play the most high notes. He is in the history of jazz alongside Cat Anderson, Bill Chase or Arturo Sandoval himself. I have always been fascinated by these trumpet players. Impressive. Wow!! Although they are not really my favorites.

[@ok-qt4kr]

Arturo Sandoval certainly carries on Maynard Ferguson's Stratospheric playing!

[@maryannarep]

I love Tower of Power. Maybe you could analyze some of their songs. Don't change horses in the middle of the stream! Holy cow that trumpet ending! Love Maynard!!

[@sammie7752]

Ok what do I know about MF but the opening reminds me of what could be the opening to "The Dick Van Duke show" . Actually enjoyed your analysis. This one made my ear bud's smoke

[@StrateleStudios]

😂🙉

[@robertbranco1126]

That was 75 years ago was this the one the family of the arranger song writer sued them from playing on the radio

[@blkbushirishwhiskey]

That was All the Things You Are, by Jerome Kern.

[@jodieturner6350]

✌❤🎶🎶❤✌

[@lwskiner]

Cat Anderson could go higher but Maynard was more accurate and had a bigger sound. Remarkably they used the same horn but Cat's mouthpiece was more shallow.

[@michaelgwfrogwelge]

Early on, MF played lots of high notes, and as he got older, not only did he play fewer, but he usually had another guy in the band to hit some of them.

[@vegaswillie]

A Jeff you probably already know this but you sent me a comment earlier and then shortly after that I got another comment from you but it wasn't from you it was something to do with a telegram app which has been going around I just wanted to give you a heads up if you didn't know.

[@StrateleStudios]

Scammers. I just blocked them. Thanks for letting me know!

[@naknaksdadn572]

Now y'all are in my neighborhood for music! LOL, minus that inhuman range! Wow! Yes, as Maynard aged and also surgeries to his lips, he did come down in his range! i got to see/hear him at the Beacon Theater in NYC many years ago when he was still wailing it!