Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
One of the most influential jazz trumpeters passed away last evening. He was a childhood idol for me whom I got to meet on 2 occasions, Maynard Ferguson. He was commercially famous for the Rocky theme song. "I knew it was going to be a hit," he once said of the Bill Conti composition. "Sylvester Stallone was in the studio when we recorded it," punching a speed bag to the rhythm of the song. "If you listen very close to the original recording, you can hear in the mix the sound of him hitting the small bag" said Ferguson.
He was born in Montreal 78 years ago. He has been performing for packed houses for decades now. Maynard’s face is one of the most recognizable faces to people who know nothing of jazz. His puffy cheeks and scrunched, bright red face. A truly great man who loved playing music with all of his heart. He had the privilege of playing with the greats such as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Barnett, Jimmy Dorsey, Stan Kenton and many more. A friend/role model of mine that I used to jam with in St.Pete, Rich Willey had the privilege of playing with him for 4 years.
http://maynard.ferguson.net/willey.htm
It is hard to age sometimes and lose those people who you look up to as heroes, idols, icons. Yet you find something in death that makes you realize life is real. You have to go out there and live it like Maynard did every single freakin' day. He was someone who found his calling and pursued it with the force of a locomotive.
Ferguson started his proffesional music career at age 11 with the Canadian Broadcasting Company. He then dropped out of school at 15 to pursue his music career later becoming the leader of his own big band in 1945 at age 17, and went on to record more than 60 albums, receiving numerous honors including 3 Grammy nominations...DownBeats Trumpeter of the year 3 times
In 2005, Ferguson was awarded Canada's highest civilian honor, the Order of Canada.
There will be a memorial concert in St. Louis, MO.
God Rest His Soul
05/04/1928-08/23/2006
