Randman's World

One of my favorite musicians, Maynard Ferguson, died Wednesday at the age of 78. Who was Maynard Ferguson? Many people have no idea. To call him a trumpet player would be to call Michael Jordan someone who plays a bit of basketball. Maynard was an incredible trumpet player, known for his screaming high notes.

I first saw Maynard in 1983, in Branson. I was playing in the School of the Ozarks jazz band, and the band leader, Leon Bradley, took us to see Maynard, who was playing a concert at the Branson High School. I had no idea who Maynard was, but Mr. Bradley, knowing my music taste, told me, "Trust me, you're going to love this!"

We get to the high school gym, and see a bunch of guys on stage, not much older than we are, walking around in black t-shirts and jeans. They don't appear too enthused, and just plain look bored. We sat down in the 2nd row, center. I'm sitting there. The lights go out, and the drummer, still looking kinda bored, counts off the beat for "Birdland". The band comes to life. Tight brass, unbelieveable rhythm section. And then, Maynard walks on stage.

He comes center stage to the microphone, pulls his trumpet up to his lips, and starts hitting notes that I didn't know could come out of a trumpet. The bell of his trumpet is aimed directly at my face, so I'm hearing the sound directly, rather than through the speakers. I imagine that my hair was blowing backwards from the sound coming out of his trumpet.

I'm sure my jaw dropped, and I was swept away in this incredible jazz band, their arrangements, and the stratosphere scraping sounds of Maynard's trumpet. I was hooked.

I had joined the Jazz Band as a way to get credit for playing guitar. But after that concert, I truly wanted to learn more about big band jazz. And I did. Everything from Glenn Miller to Stan Kenton to Chick Corea. I wrote a couple of arrangements for songs (one of which is still played on occasions at CMSU basketball games), and learned to score. I worked harder on my piano skills, and learned to improvise songs.

Maynard inspired a lot of musicians along the way. Many people whose names you would know played in his band (Chick Corea and Chuck Mangione, to name a couple).

As my post title says, heaven has a new lead trumpeter, and Gabriel has moved to second chair.