Maynard Ferguson Meets Miles Davis, Clark Terry and Clifford Brown

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Bret Primack's Portrait of Maynard Ferguson, including some rare performance video, and a 1998 interview, where Maynard talks about his admiration for Clark Terry and Clifford Brown, and remembers playing opposite Miles Davis at Birdland.

The second trumpeter in the Swingin' clip is Jerry Tyree.

Walter Maynard Ferguson C.M. (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence playing in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often served as stepping stones for up-and-coming talent, and his ability to play expressively and accurately in a remarkably high register.

The great Jazz writer Scott Yanow writes in the All Music Guide: "When he debuted with Stan Kenton's Orchestra in 1950, Maynard Ferguson could play higher than any other trumpeter up to that point in jazz history, and he was accurate. Somehow he has kept most of that range through the decades and since the 1970s has been one of the most famous musicians in jazz. Never known for his exquisite taste (some of his more commercial efforts are unlistenable), Maynard Ferguson has nevertheless led some important bands and definitely made an impact with his trumpet playing.

After heading his own big band in Montreal, Ferguson came to the United States in 1949 with hopes of joining Kenton's orchestra, but that ensemble had just recently broke up. So instead, MF gained experience playing with the big bands of Boyd Raeburn, Jimmy Dorsey and Charlie Barnet. In 1950 with the formation of Kenton's Innovations Orchestra, Ferguson became a star, playing ridiculous high notes with ease. In 1953 he left Kenton to work in the studios of Los Angeles and three years later led the all-star "Birdland Dreamband." In 1957 he put together a regular big band that lasted until 1965, recorded regularly for Roulette (all of its recordings with that label are on a massive Mosaic box set) and performed some of the finest music of Ferguson's career. Such players as Slide Hampton, Don Ellis, Don Sebesky, Willie Maiden, John Bunch, Joe Zawinul, Joe Farrell, Jaki Byard, Lanny Morgan, Rufus Jones, Bill Berry and Don Menza were among the more notable sidemen.

After economics forced him to give up the impressive band, Ferguson had a few years in which he was only semiactive in music, spending time in India and eventually forming a new band in England. After moving back to the U.S., Ferguson in 1974 drifted quickly into commercialism. Young trumpeters in high school and colleges were amazed by his high notes but jazz fans were dismayed by the tasteless recordings which resulted in hit versions of such songs as the themes from Star Wars and Rocky and much worse."

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