Maynard Ferguson - Influence

Influence

Maynard Ferguson was one of a handful of virtuoso musician/bandleaders to survive the end of the big band era and the rise of rock and roll. He demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt to the musical trends that evolved from the 1940s through the 2000s. Ferguson's albums show an evolution from big band swing, bebop, cool jazz, Latin, jazz / rock, fusion with classical and operatic influences. Through his devotion to music education in America, Ferguson was able to impart the spirit of his jazz playing and technique to scores of amateur and professional trumpeters during the many Master Classes held throughout his long career.

Ferguson was not the first trumpeter to play in the extreme upper register, but he had a unique ability to play high notes with full, rich tone, power, and musicality. While regarded by some as showboating, Ferguson's tone, phrasing and vibrato was instantly recognizable and has been influential on and imitated by generations of amateur and professional trumpet players. A direct connection to Ferguson's style of playing continues in the work of the trumpeters who played with him, notably Patrick Hession, Roger Ingram, Wayne Bergeron and Eric Myashiro. Although some had believed that Ferguson was endowed with exceptional facial musculature, he often shared in interviews that his command of the upper registers was based mostly on breath control, something he had discovered as a youngster in Montreal. Ferguson also attributed the longevity of his demanding bravura trumpet technique through his later years to the spiritual and yoga studies he pursued while in India.

Musician Al Kooper has written and stated that Maynard Ferguson's orchestra inspired Kooper's formation of the band Blood, Sweat & Tears. Trumpeter and bandleader Bill Chase and scores of other trumpeters were clearly influenced by Ferguson's playing and performing style.

While Ferguson's range was his most obvious attribute, perhaps equally significant was the personal charisma Ferguson brought to a musical genre that is often seen as veering towards the cold and cerebral. As Ferguson's obituary in the Washington Post declared:

"Ferguson lit up thousands of young horn players, most of them boys, with pride and excitement. In a (high school) 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."

Ferguson designed and popularized two unique instruments called the 'Firebird' and the 'Superbone'. The Firebird was similar to a trumpet, but had the valves played with the left hand (instead of the right) and a trombone-style slide played with the right hand. Indian-American trumpeter Rajesh Mehta bought this trumpet while living in Amsterdam and played the Firebird in his own innovative music contexts from 1998 until 2011 when he had American trumpet maker George Schlub create the Orka-M Naga Phoenix trumpet for him. The Superbone was another hybrid instrument, which was fundamentally a trombone with additional valves played with the left hand. Ferguson regularly incorporated Indian instruments and influences in albums and concerts.

Shortly before his death, he received the Man of Music Award by Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity, of which he was a member. The Maynard Ferguson Institute of Jazz Studies at Rowan University was created in 2000, the same year Rowan bestowed Ferguson with his only Honorary Doctorate degree. The Institute, currently under direction of Ferguson's longtime friend and fellow musician Denis Diblasio, supports the Rowan Jazz Program in training young jazz musicians.

Maynard Ferguson band alumni regrouped for a highly emotional memorial concert soon after his death, fronted by high range trumpeters Wayne Bergeron, Patrick Hession, Walter White, and Eric Miyashiro. A DVD of the concert was released, also featuring footage of Ferguson in performance, and spoken tributes from colleagues. A similar ensemble united for a tribute concert on what would have been Ferguson's 80th birthday. Other occasional groupings and concerts, often with Ferguson band alumni, have occurred. In addition, several tribute albums by a variety of noted trumpeters have been released, helping to keep Ferguson's music alive, and serve as a legacy for future generations. Of course, Ferguson's own rich recorded legacy remains to thrill, awe, entertain, and inspire.