Maynard Ferguson - Storm (1983)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a cassette tape, later replaced by a CD.

I was perusing some jazz album charts from 1983 - as one does - saw this album mentioned and remembered buying it when I was in high school. Well, couple that memory with an admitted eBay problem plus a PayPal balance, and yada yada yada, this CD appeared in my mailbox [spoiler alert: more than one 1983 jazz CD may have arrived in said mailbox at the time].

And this album is just as I remember, more jazz than pop, four good tracks, three forgettable tracks, and one track so bad I'd wiped it from my memory. Still, you buy a Ferguson CD to hear screaming trumpet and Maynard is in fine form here, for the most part. There's no liner notes on my CD insert, but this Discogs post claims the cuts were "recorded live to two tracks on June 23 and 24, 1982 at Ocean Way Recorders, Hollywood, California" which explains the occasional clam and tuning issues. Despite its drawbacks, I'm glad I got a chance to revisit the album.

Billboard, July 30, 1983, p. 53

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #38
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #7

Tracks: The best track is clever arrangement of the theme to Sesame Street, which greatly appealed to me as a teenager and I still dig it. The other three keepers are Admiral's Horn, Hit In The Head, and the Strayhorn standard, Take the A Train. Skip the other standard, As Time Goes By. Despite a stellar arrangement and great saxophone work throughout, Maynard sings and that's more than this guy can handle.

The Grammy nomination mentioned above was for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for the cover of Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough on the Hollywood album. It lost to the Flock Of Seagulls song, DNA.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  I've told this bit before, but my fellow trumpeters and I loved Maynard in high school, but my college trumpet-playing classmates looked down on him. Screw 'em. If I want to blast Sesame Street on the Markmobile's Pioneer tape deck as I cruise around rural northeast Texas with my car windows down, I'll damn sure do it. And did.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Master of the Stratosphere (1997)
Hollywood (1982)
The Best Of Maynard Ferguson (1980)
Chameleon (1974)/Conquistador (1977)/Hot (1979)

Maynard Ferguson - Chameleon (1974)/Conquistador (1977)/Hot (1979)

UK Import

Three albums on 2 CDs from the master of the stratospheric trumpet. Thanks, BGO. Almost 40 years ago, I discovered Ferguson while in high school through a greatest hits cassette. We (me and my fellow trumpeters) loved Maynard in high school, but my college trumpet-playing friends looked down on him. I continued to listen to him anyway and then Maynard came to our college campus in 1986 and all of a sudden these same jazz snobs were on the Maynard bandwagon. Shameless. Here's a photo taken at that show. Maynard is the one with the towel and white pants after Labor Day.

Excellent remastering job on these plus a fantastic liner note booklet that includes full credits as well as a nice essay by Charles Waring, jazz columnist for Record Collector and contributor to MOJO and Wax Poetics. Well done.

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CHAMELEON (1974)
8 tracks, 41 minutes

My on-again-off-again high school girlfriend had this on vinyl and I dubbed the good stuff to a cassette. Mostly covers, this thing's hit or miss, but I literally wore out that cassette.

CashBox, August 31, 1974, p. 22

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #13

Tracks: Choice cuts are the title track (by Herbie Hancock), Gospel John (an original by Jeff Steinberg), a high energy cover of McCartney's Jet and, my pick for top track: La Fiesta (by Chick Corea). Avoid Maynard's take on The Way We Were and his vocals on I Can't Get Started. Speaking of not getting started: the arrangement of Stevie Wonder's Living For The City. The title track, which came out within a year of Hancock's original, is now a jazz/funk standard and remains popular with high school marching band and jazz bands.

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CONQUISTADOR (1977)
6 tracks, 36 minutes

Famous for its lead track, Gonna Fly Now, which became Ferguson's biggest hit (#28 pop, #46 adult contemporary) and a signature tune for the pop/disco/Columbia Records phase of his career. Not surprisingly, this is also Maynard's all-time top selling album.

CashBox, March 19, 1977, p. 14

According to the liner notes, Gonna Fly Now was a last second addition at the recommendation of a record executive that had just seen the first Rocky movie. Hey! A record exec got something right! But he wasn't the only one: the tune is unique in that it had recordings by 4 different artists charting at the same time: Ferguson's peaked at #28, Bill Conti's original which was #1 for one week, while versions from Rhythm Heritage and Current both peaked at #94.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #22
• Billboard Jazz: #1
• CashBox: #45
• CashBox Jazz: #5

Tracks: My picks are Gonna Fly Now (natch), Mister Mellow with a tasty extended solo from George Benson, and Soar Like an Eagle which is a Bob James tune and in case you couldn't tell that from the very first measure, James contributes a nice electric piano solo. And even though the Theme From Star Trek is all cheese, I can't help but love it probably because it was on the aforementioned greatest hits cassette I bought in high school. People buying the album because they liked the Rocky theme were probably disappointed by the title track and the throwaway experiment, The Fly.

Exclusive CD longbox photo courtesy of
Dirk Digglinator of the Hambonian Archives.

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HOT (1979)
7 tracks, 42 minutes

Note: this release was originally purchased as a LP (twice), later replaced by this CD set.

This album contains Maynard's second (of only two) pop chart appearance; an attempt to cash in on the movie sequel, Rocky II.


If you believe that label (and I have no reason not to), the album was originally slated to be titled Blow Your Own Horn.

Of the album, in a one star review/pan, Allmusic writes:

"Hot could be the absolute worst of trumpeter Maynard Ferguson's '70s recordings. It's not just that it contains more over the top versions of theme songs -- "Rocky II Disco" anyone? -- and generally vomitive dancefloor-ready production, but more to the point, 'ol MF just doesn't sound good.

It's hard to argue any of that, but when the album brings back memories of high school, none of that matters. At least CashBox tried to put a good spin on things:

Cash Box, August 4, 1979, p. 17

To tell the truth, I never woulda picked up this LP (heck, I think I had it special ordered!), if I hadn't happened across the following sheet music in 1979 or 1980 at the local music shop (click images to enlarge):


So I had the sheet music and wanted to hear what it sounded like, so I got the album. Yes, I still have the sheet music but I don't think the value has appreciated much.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #188
• Billboard Jazz: #14
• CashBox: #175
• CashBox Jazz: #9

Tracks: There's not much to recommend here, to be honest, not even the aforementioned Rocky II Disco. I listen for purposes of nostalgia. The rehash of Gospel John (from the Chameleon album above) is titled Gabriel and is possibly the only instrumental disco funk gospel tune I've ever heard so there's that. Even though it's silly disco filler, my favorite track might be Topa-Topa Woman.

And what's Theme From Star Trek doing on here? Wasn't it also on Conquistador? Yes, it's the same recording, only shorter. The liner notes characterize the inclusion of the Star Trek theme as "a blatant attempt to capitalise on the release of the first Star Trek movie."

Previously revisited for the blog:
Master of the Stratosphere (1997)
Hollywood (1982)
The Best Of Maynard Ferguson (1980)

Maynard Ferguson - Master of the Stratosphere (1997)

A budget compilation from the trumpeter best known for his high range. I'm not sure if it is still true today, but 20-30 years ago, Ferguson was a favorite of high school trumpet players everywhere as they could only dream of having that sort of range and power (me included). This album is much stronger than the 1980 compilation The Best Of Maynard Ferguson, so pick this one up should you have the urge for screeching '70s big band music. The only problem with budget compilations is the lack of liner notes, so I don't have any idea who is playing on these tracks. These tracks were originally released in the years 1970-1977 on the albums MF Horn 1 & 2, Chameleon, Primal Scream, and Conquistador.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart:  Did not chart

Tracks:  Of the 10 tracks, there are only 3 duplicates from The Best Of Maynard Ferguson: Gonna Fly Now (Theme From "Rocky"), Macarthur Park, and Pagliacci. 2 of those 3 are good and probably the highlights of that first compilation. The exception is the disco version of a famous aria from the opera Pagliacci. Now that I hear this version of Macarthur Park, I have to admit that it is a different recording than on the other disc. This one is from MF Horn 1 while the other is a live version from MF Horn 4 & 5 (Live at Jimmy's). I like most of the other 7 tracks, particularly the cover of Blood Sweat & Tears' Spinning Wheel, Gospel John, La Fiesta, and the cover of Herbie Hancock's Chameleon. I had high hopes for a high energy version of Isaac Hayes' Theme From "Shaft," but this arrangement falls short.

Song	Album	Year
Primal Scream	Primal Scream	1976
Spinning Wheel	MF Horn 2	1972
Chameleon	Chameleon	1974
Gospel John	Chameleon	1974
La Fiesta	Chameleon	1974
Gonna Fly Now	Conquistador	1977
MacArthur Park	MF Horn 1	1970
Pagliacci	Primal Scream	1976
Superbone Meets The Bad Man	Chameleon	1974
Theme From "Shaft"	MF Horn 2	1972

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  This CD was purchased in the early 2000's to keep me company during my 25 minute commute to work through the rice fields of Matagorda County.

Back in the early '80s, I borrowed my girlfriend's copy of the Chameleon LP and didn't give it back until we split. Three of the best tracks on this compilation are taken from that album: Gospel John, La Fiesta, and the cover of Herbie Hancock's Chameleon. We talked the high school jazz band director into playing a cheesy arrangement of Gospel John and performed it at a ridiculously slow tempo. I think I have a recording of that group around here somewhere. If I find it I should have it converted to some digital files.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Hollywood (1982)
The Best Of Maynard Ferguson (1980)

Maynard Ferguson - The Best Of Maynard Ferguson (1980)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a cassette tape, later replaced by a CD.

Despite the album title, this is hardly Maynard's best, but it does include some of his best known work. Let's be honest, this is a bunch of big band disco music from the '70s that includes 4 soundtrack themes. However, it includes a lot of screaming trumpet playing, which is why we listen to Maynard in the first place. This album was my introduction to Maynard and it got a lot of playing time back in the early '80s. Not so much anymore.

Tracks: My favorites are Gonna Fly Now, MacArthur Park, and Birdland. Indeed, Maynard's Birdland may be my favorite version of that piece. The space theme music from TV and the movies (Star Trek, Star Wars, and Battlestar Galactica) are all cheesy messes, especially Battlestar Galactica. The Star Trek cut has the highest trumpet note on the album, which I figure to be a concert Ab⁴. The most laughable track is the disco version of a famous aria from the opera Pagliacci. There is a decent big band bebop track, Airegin, and it is quite good, but they stuck at the end of the album where it seems like an afterthought, unfortunately.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Let me take you back to 1983. We had high school marching band practice in the early mornings and were allowed time to change clothes before moving on to our second period class. I kept my clothes in my car and would often just change shirts right there in the parking lot. Naturally, I would turn on the car stereo when I was there (the Markmobile had a fairly decent Pioneer deck). One morning, I had this tape playing loudly in the school parking lot, blaring Birdland. Students who were moving out of the band hall to the parking lot would come over, hear the music and, inexplicably, start dancing. Of course, I joined in. So we literally had dancing in the streets to outdated big band music. The band director eventually came out and put a stop to it. Buzzkill. Just another example of the man trying to stifle self-expression.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Hollywood (1982)

Maynard Ferguson - Hollywood (1982)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a cassette tape, later replaced by a CD.

There's something that gets into your DNA when you learn how to play trumpet. Trumpet players become inexplicably obsessed with playing extremely high notes. They must also listen and lavish praise upon trumpet players that can play in the extreme upper register on the horn. The king of that domain for years was Maynard Ferguson (1928-2006). Ferguson's biggest solo commercial success happened in the 1970's and he rode that disco horse until it keeled over. More specifically, that horse died with the release of this album. Being a teen-aged knucklehead back then, I didn't know the difference, I just had to purchase Maynard music because I played trumpet. It was a requirement. By 1982, Maynard and his band were putting out over-produced pop covers with little improvisation. It probably shouldn't even be called jazz. After this release, Maynard changed record labels and wisely moved to playing more straight-ahead jazz. If you didn't see Maynard in concert, it's because you didn't try. He played more high school gyms than the Harlem Globetrotters. To his credit, he became known for showcasing up-and-coming musical talent in his band.

DownBeat

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #185
• Billboard Jazz: #12
• CashBox: #186
• CashBox Jazz: #9
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #2

Tracks: Lots of covers here, including Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough (Michael Jackson), Deja Vu (Dionne Warwick), Nine to Five (Dolly Parton), For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton), and Portuguese Love (Teena Marie). Not much to any of these, but the worst by far is the banjo-infused Nine to Five. The only decent piece on the disc is the title track, written by bassist Stanley Clarke and featuring a nice solo by David Sanborn. That track (and pure nostalgia) are the reason I purchased the CD.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Being a band geek, this cassette tape was on heavy rotation in my car's tape deck in the winter of 1982/83. And I honestly wondered why I couldn't get a date...

I saw Maynard and his band in concert at the old MSC at ETSU during the spring of 1986 (I'm guessing on the date). I should have gone backstage to meet him. Here's a photo taken at that show. Maynard is the one rockin' the white pants.