Maynard Ferguson Tribute with Rare Recordings
I once heard that “Bud” Herseth, the legendary principal trumpet with the Chicago Symphony for 50 or so years, made a remark that he considered Maynard Ferguson to be the greatest brass player of the 20th century. I am not officially certain that Herseth actually made that remark but it wouldn't surprise me after listening to recordings at the link below. I grew up listening to Maynard, and in a previous post I mentioned that after listening to him and his band in the early 70s, I wanted to become a professional musician. Who knows how many more musicians were influenced enough by Maynard to pursue music as a career.
Trumpeter Chuck Mangione has been kind enough to upload a number of old and not so old MP3s of Maynard in action. I just listened to them this afternoon and was absolutely astounded by his trumpet playing. Some of the most amazing cuts were recorded in the late 50s, and they are real gems. Notice in particular how strong he sounds in the lower register as well as a ridiculous high register. This is probably why Herseth made that remark. Visit the link below and take a few minutes to honor Maynard Ferguson by listening to these recordings. Thanks for sharing this Chuck!
posted by Jim @ 12:23 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
FYI Jim...."Bud" Herseth did indeed praise MF as the greatest brass player of the 20th century. This was in an issue of "The Instrumentalist" in 1974, with Herseth on the cover for a feature interview. The interviewer pressed Bud if he meant "trumpet player", but Herseth replied "brass player". Herseth also had glowing things to say about Harry James, Lew Soloff, and Jon Faddis in the same article. Perhaps the article has been reprinted somewhere on the Net, or a back issue is in some conservatory library, but it is a great interview!
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