I played in a band directed by Steve Wiest in high school. He is an incredible director and educator, one of the best I’ve been fortunate to be in the presence of, and this is one of my favorite stories he told us. He said that he initially forgot to walk down to play the solo on this song because he got distracted by the remarkable venue and the bunnies. Because he was late getting to the stage, Maynard played some high notes as a distraction right before the solo. Since Maynard was playing these, Steve assumed that they would not shake hands before the solo-which is a customary thing Maynard would do with all soloists before and after they soloed. When Maynard reached over to shake his hand with only two measures before the solo began, Steve got so flustered that he belted out some super high notes in the beginning of his solo and said he was so gassed by the end of it, but wow did it sound fantastic! Would have loved being there live, but hearing his take on this solo was truly remarkable. Thanks for sharing it with me, Steve!
My favorite part of this fantastic song is at :55 when Maynard is playing and then pops like a double HighC and then the rhythm section is cranking beyond belief just look at the bass player dancing and getting into it it’s crazy amazing-certainly Unprecedented for jazz music these days
Steve Wiest is conducting the Oklahoma All State Jazz Band at the OMEA Convention in Tulsa this week. My trombonist daughter is in the band and says he is the best clinician she's ever studied under. I can't wait to hear their concert Saturday!
Does anybody know if the very high note at the end of the album version (a C-sharp) is Ferguson's trumpet (in which case if would be one of the highest notes he's ever hit) or synthesizer?
