Maynard Ferguson

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14502089/


I actually heard the sad news from my friend, Scott Englebright, a former lead trumpet player with MF. We haven't written in a while and I was a bit surprised when an e-mail showed up from him... The Subject was simply "Maynard Ferguson" and the text was nothing more than the above link. I knew right then that clicking the link would bring me to bad news.

I have to confess that I'm surprised by two facts: One, that he died so "young" when his grandparents lived into their hundreds. (I'm not sure if his parents are still around or not.) And, Two, that he managed to live as long as he did when the obvious toll of a hard life on the road, as a musician, had really taken the years out of his body.

I saw him less than a year ago... he looked great, had lost a little weight. He seemed much sharper than I've EVER seen him, speaking directly and more to the point than I'd ever heard. His energy levels on stage, while down from the 40 year old Maynard I first saw in the early seventies, were still far beyond any other performer I've ever seen. His playing was a little less over the top, a little more paced and reserved. He seemed to have studied more, planned for his moments in the sun. The range was still incredible, unbelievable for a 77 year old man! And while there were certainly moments that could have been executed a bit cleaner by a younger Maynard, there was no doubt that this man was still the master of his game, still the "World's Greatest Trumpet Man"!

And I guess that the most important tribute to my hero, my idol, is that, right up to the end, he was still having fun, still doing what he wanted to be doing and enoying himself to the fullest doing it. There was truly a life well led!

I can't think of ANY other player who changed the way ALL trumpet players think about and approach the horn as much as he did. Sure, there were other guys with the range, there are stronger high note players out there today... but if MF had stayed with the violin, would there be? Or would we all be squeaking 'em out instead of blasting them to the back row? And, sure, there are "classical" players who are quite content with their ranges, who stop at High C or D... but check out the quotes from Bud Herseth and some of the classical trumpeters when Maynard came on the scene. They all shook their heads in wonder... and the next time they picked up their horns, you know they "gave it a shot"... and most of them shook their heads again...

I know that my world is slightly smaller today...