Maynard Ferguson at The 1982 Playboy Jazz Festival 

Not like the Worship John Frusciante Jazz Fest? Hahaha what a cokehead.

Thanks so much Jessica! I agree: Maynard was a once-in-a-generation (or longer!) artist. We are not likely to see his ilk again...and definitely not in the midst of the "perfect storm" of societal and music business aspects that came together at the most opportune spot in music history for him to not only exist, but to flourish as well. Everything happened at just the right time and at the center of it all was the force of nature known as Maynard Ferguson. He was my friend, mentor and brother and I am a far better person for having known him.

Steve Wiest Very well said.

The whole thing you guys had going with “Fireshaker” - I saw Maynard 18+ times from ‘78 to ‘06- and C Champ. = Really Great Collaboration ♥️☺️. Fusion meets Ellington by way of Mikes and Coltrane and Chuck Mangione. A very magical inspiration to my soul …

Yeah that bone solo is FIRE 🔥

As Maynard would say: "And, uh...WOW!" :)

Steve Wiest was one of my favorite trombone players.

@boardmanfan Mine too. Great composer and arranger.

Thanks! You can check out my Facebook page: facebook.com/Wiestworld/ or my Website: steve-wiest.com/ to see what I'm up to and when.

@@SteveWiest21stCentury Yeah, man. That was fantastic. All the best.

Hi Paul. Thanks so very much for your kind words. Sounds to me like you have had an AMAZING career. Bravo my friend! Gotta tell ya: playing in Maynard's band and having the privilege of getting to know the great man set up EVERYTHING in my life that has followed. What a blessing! And...it is a gift that keeps giving. Not a day goes by when I am not cognizant of his profound influence in my life. RE writing for the smaller ensemble, it was always our goal to make the band somehow sound like a full big band. What an education I received in this 24/7-365 music laboratory! I found myself paired with super-talented people from Eastman, North Texas, Miami, et al...such as Denis DiBlasio, Matt Harris, Chris Braymen and Tim Reis, to name but a few. We all had early-tech solid state Cascio mini keyboards with headphone splitters so that we could "check in" and listen to what each other were working on. It was GLORIOUS!

❤

+Roderick Throgmorton Ha! Well I think you would have loved those years as I did Roderick. Maynard was a joy to be around both musically and as a person/mentor. Electricity, excitement, laughter and happiness were his hallmarks and it influenced all of us. Thanks so much for your kind words!

phoatoh joe Ha! What a cool story. Maynard is truly the gift that keeps on giving! :)

+phoatoh joe That's the best comment on the thread so far, haha!

My God, you just made me laugh and cry at the same time, ditto on best comment on the entire thread

Honor thy T-Shirt, especially ANY MFerguson T-Shirt :) Besides its the 11th Commandment !

Had the pleasure of seeing him in the 80’s in canton ohio and also at Bowling Green st univ. what a treat. Still listen to this today. Loved it then but love it even more now

+Bradley Saunders You're welcome Bradley. Glad you enjoyed it. Maynard was the absolute best, and it is my honor to help keep his legacy alive. Much more to come!

Thank you Brother Ryan! Nick is a dear friend and a marvelous musician. He makes my head explode too! Here is what I'm up to these days: steve-wiest.com. Thanks again for the kind words!

Ryan turner from john muir high?

Thank you so much Michael! Being with Maynard has made everything in my life possible. It continues to be a great honor, and I seem to learn a little something more everyday from what he taught all of us on his band.

Gil Wilshire Thanks Gil. After seeing this only in low res throughout RU-vid, it was nice to find this higher quality one :)

Thanks you David. you are quite welcome!

+Jorge Callico Thanks my friend!

+Steve Wiest Also, Noticed that your composition "South 21st Shuffle" was posted as "out of print" on some page I visited. Is this so? Always was one of my favorite Maynard charts. Possibly because I once lived on 21st Ave. At the time in the city of S/F where you all recorded the "Live At The Great American Music Hall" vinyl. Am with a working band (kinda anyway lol) in No Cal and would like to buy the composition. As well as other charts that you may still have. "Jorge".

+Jorge Callico Hi Jorge! Did you once live on 21st Ave in Hattiesburg? I wrote that tune about my brother and myself playing football in the street on South 21st and having to dodge cars (thus the shuffle :) ) and of course as an homage to the family house there where my mother still lives. Magic stuff man. As far as the chart itself, it was never published in full big band form except for a basic transcription and expansion by Bob Lowden that came out long ago. That's the one that is now out of print. I've often thought about doing a rewrite of that piece so that big bands could play it. If I ever do, I will send you a copy. Thanks for all of your kind words my friend!

Steve, At the risk of perhaps almost a negligible privacy concern will post a rarely used email of mine: Leesbrass@Excite.com I use the "Jorge" name on RU-vid to allow my occasionally strong opinions freer expression. All without worry of repercussions. Not sure if it's a good idea overall but it might have saved me from the jaws of a at least a few "concerned citizens". So far anyway. So if you feel like writing me? I will definitely purchase at least one chart and give to the fairly decent big band that I'm associated with. Using my real name. The name which I can't post here. Would really like to see your work continue to flourish. Also a chart like "South 21st Shuffle" would add to the depth of book of the band I work in. That and add to the harmony in the group itself. Am most certain of that.

Thanks Adam. Yep, it was a big family back then... all the bands would hang out with one another and we had friends across all of the groups. Great times!

Hi Adam! Just answering other comments today and reread this one. In doing so, I realized you were referring to Woody Shaw, not Herman. And YES, both Freddie and Woody loved Maynard as a person and his playing…and vice versa. It was truly a mutual admiration club and a joy to see in action.

assignmentearth And might I add,....Stan Mark,....I think the greatest lead trumpet Maynard had. He could perfectly cop Maynard's sound and make you think he was playing with the group all the time. Greatness!

assignmentearth The drummer was Dave Mancini. A great musician and wonderful guy, he is still playing quite a bit around the Rochester New York area. www.maureenmcgovern.com/newbios2/mancinibio.htm Thanks for the comment on "Portuguese Love." The version you see here is actually my arrangement. Maynard assigned myself, Denis DiBlasio and Chris Braymen with the happy task of taking the studio versions and expanding-adapting them for the road band. What a blast that was!

Steve Wiest Ah, Dave Mancini, that's the name. Animal from the Muppet Show. Crazy, wild, fun energy. Man! he added a lot to the festivities. So solid. So powerful. Bravo, bravissimo on those arrangements! Yeah, I much prefer this to the slick studio version. More heart, more soul. More groove. I searched for a recording of this broadcast for years. Like Christmas when I found it. (I still dig your S21st Shuffle, which as I recall was kind of about you playing football in the street as a kid, diving for the ball on the pavement and other daring kid stuff - - the dreamy, atmospheric B section break in the middle about 1:20 where Maynard gets to soar was always too cool) Everybody's gotta have their heroes. In high school you guys were that to us. I saw Maynard maybe a dozen times at Caravan of Dreams in Ft Wth. Talked to you one night there. I actually let you in the front door when you showed up to sit in with Maynard one of those nights. I happened to be by the front door, recognized you and let you in. Sadly, that place doesn't exist anymore. Great place. Ah well. What a life you lived playing with Maynard. Glad you got to do that. Glad I got to hear you then. Thanks again for posting this.

+assignmentearth I am glad I had those years as well. What a joy. And, a pity that the Caravan of Dreams is no longer a jazz club. It is an art center or something now. It was a great space.

Thanks so much David!

Thanks so much Joseph! There is quite a story behind that solo that I decided to write up for posterity on the site Medium. Check it out: medium.com/@SteveWiest1/maynard-ferguson-sponge-bob-rabbits-and-a-scary-handshake-f0d9765db314

+Ed Weibe Blessed indeed. Thanks so much Ed.

Thanks Jok Sal🙏❤That's how it was playing in a section with Chris Braymen! The BEST.

Wassup Mick! Thanks man. It was huge fun indeed. A 24/7-365 musical and creative party DELUXE! I miss it Bruh. I’m hoping to either get Vinyl Hampdin on the road now, or go out with a great horn section with someone else. Or BOTH!😛 www.vinylhampdin.com steve-wiest.com

+kdm71291 Thanks so much. Yep, all the versions of Maynard's bands were great fun! He let it be no other way :)

kdm71291 question for you....do you recall a special t-shirt being made by the Ventura folks for that concert on HV tour?

Thanks so much. It was BIG fun!

How true! Boss was a wonderful person as well as a once-in-multiple-generation artist. I am forever grateful to have been a part of his happy musical family🙏❤️

+Bruno Ouellet He actually went to the same high school there as Oscar Peterson! He was really proud of that.

The king of the hard-blown trumpet and super-high notes. Miles Davis was a different kind of king of the trumpet: Primarily subtle music and mute trumpet. As different from one another as night and day.

Mark Pettigrew and they played together at Birdland. Sharing the stage for years.

@@SteveWiest21stCentury Amazing solo by the way! :-)

Hi Mark! I couldn’t agree any more completely: a great time to be alive indeed!!😍

A bad-boy gathering of monster knuckleheads for sure! Maynard was indeed off the charts!

How fun! What year was that?

Thanks so much! It was an electric night of great fun.

Thanks!

So many great venues lost over time. Always sad.

🙏❤️

Those sound like wonderful days indeed Mike! Before joining the band, I had similar experiences. Truly, I never did get over my “fan boy” feelings for Maynard and the exhilarating surreal tradition of his band. What a joy!

Hey mike I was at BG also. Marched for chief up there. Saw Maynard n if I remember correctly he played with the schools jazz band. I think Kristy was lead alto sax back then

Obrigado meu amigo! foi uma alegria e uma honra ser membro da banda de Maynard🙏❤️

Ha! Just saw this one. Thanks so much man😍 What an exciting show that was! Such a joy to have worked with him. He is a treasure indeed❤️

+Altair Martins yes indeed !

Altair Martins I know!! I'm a young trumpeter. And he came and gave a jazz clinic in Arizona. Also I was so blessed too have a private lesson with Stan mark afterwards!!!! He's such an amazing and talented man.

How long ago was this ?

CarsRcool about 2 months ago;) maybe alittle more.

I've always appreciated Stan Mark's contribution to Maynard's band also and his recordings with Maynard Ferguson contributed much to my concept of what lead trumpet should sound like. He was a true workhorse on that .470 extra large bore trumpet. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-puijzjhkJ_o.html , recorded shortly after Stan left the band is one of my favorite Maynard pop ballad recordings ever, although it isn't a Maynard ballad.

Indeed!😛 So much so in fact, that I wrote a story about it in “Medium.” Check it out: medium.com/@SteveWiest1/maynard-ferguson-sponge-bob-rabbits-and-a-scary-handshake-f0d9765db314

Sir Scott! That I believe was The Great American Music Hall?

どうもありがとうございました！

I agree Mike. There are many gifted musicians out there of course, but Maynard was that “perfect storm” of experiential influences (friends with Miles, Dizzy, and Clifford) and a once-in-a-century profound talent. I believe that he had a perfect and organic understanding of air efficiency and could hear everything that he wanted to play right before he played it. As funny and spontaneous as he could be, Maynard was a VERY deep thinker and could memorize anything quite quickly. His contemporaries such as Miles, Freddie, Woody, et al realized this and gave him the nickname “Fox.”

Ed Weibe Well.

90jazzer So glad you enjoyed this! Great memories for me as it was my first "big time" show with Maynard. Unreal! As far as your questions: You: Were these the only three songs you guys performed that night? Me: As far as I remember, yes. I think we played these three and then ended with our "walk off" version of "Blue Birdland" which was from the last shout chorus out. You: Also, where did you find the footage of the "Hollywood" Me: One of my friends turned me on to this footage, and I popped it up on RU-vid. More people should see and hear this cool stuff! And there was indeed an old-school Laser Disc release of the entire festival. I remember being SO impressed with that technology back in the day :) I've told the story before, but later when I have a bit more time, I will post it here. It is in regards to said solo break of which you spoke so kindly. What an experience!

+Louis Loveland Thanks man!

Hi mythmaker18, Well, the short answer is: I have no idea!🙃 The production on this thing was some of the sloppiest editing EVER! So it’s any one’s guess what of why things happened. There were plenty of folks second guessing each other and LOTS of financial shenanigans afoot. Happily, a ton of great music resulted and a grand time was had by all🤠

That's my pal Dave Mancini (no relation to Henry) Dave is an Eastman grad and has played with many, many of the greats over the years. Check out his bio here: www.yamaha.com/artists/artistdetailb.html?CNTID=5814191&CTID=5070020

He was killin’ it that night for SHO!!🤠

HA! Indeed😛

TJ Antaya Ha! Well if you mean fortississimo...then yes! :) Not sure what that note was....but I was sho-nuff electrified, scared, and full of adrenaline!

High f

Thank you Tavo (I think :)

+Johnboy S Thanks man! Playing with Chris Braymen was wonderful! We clicked 100% and his deep sound and time feel made us sound like an entire full section.

Hi John Doe! Well that is a GREAT question! I can't give you an exact percentage of course, but I can certainly approximate. And my answer is different for those days than it would be now. As mentioned in greater detail elsewhere, my solo break on "Don't Stop" was completely spontaneous and had nothing to do with what I had planned. I was late getting to the mic and Maynard still insisted on the customary pre-solo handshake ( a beautiful tradition, but in this case: quite frightening!) It caused me to freak out and just blow! After that, the rest of the solo was built on licks and ideas that I had worked out previously. In those days, I would play something I knew and then have a conversation with whatever the rhythm section was doing, and go about the business of spontaneously developing my pre-planned ideas. Therefore, at the end of the day, I'd say I was operating on a 50/50 percentage of playing stuff that I knew would work and then truly improvising or spontaneously composing things that were informed by my initial ideas. I have since learned that the more I practice jazz vocabulary through the assimilation of transcribed material and the more I practice various compositional devices (triad pairs, pentatonics, scale patterns and devices, etc) the more material I have to draw upon. I asked J.J. Johnson a similar question. My query was "What do you think about when you improvise?" His answer was one for the ages: "Well, Steve...if my colleagues have a thorough understanding of jazz syntax, I don't think of anything!" You dig?

@@SteveWiest21stCentury Thank you so much for that detailed explanation Steve. And thanks for sharing with us JJ's response. Very cool. I did notice the rush when you started. I was wondering how you got those notes off like you did in that rush. Great solo. I asked because I played jazz bone for a short period in my life but not long enough to know how others did their solos. I recall improvising every time I played, but there were certain set licks i used to keep a flow through the solo (I'd say about 60:40). These days you probably do full improv but back then you were just a kid, so I figured you might have some setups since your flow was so good and because that was such a high profile performance. Must have been an amazing experience and remarkable period in your life. Oh I noticed you've aged really well.Thanks for sharing!

Brother BLIEGS! Sure: L-R Back row: Me, Chris Braymen, Alan Aise, Stan Mark, Hobbie Freeman, Daniel Jordan, Nelson Hill, Denis DiBlasio Fron Row L-R: Ron Pedley, Dave Mancini, Matt Bissonette,. WHAT A BAND!

Thanks Steve! I thought that looked like Dan in the Sax section! Definitely Maynard’s best band ever!!!

wow that’s Matt B on bass?? amazing! thanks for posting this Steve!

Well, it depended on the tour and who was on the band. Generally speaking, the system was word of mouth, in other words, any new band member prospect came via the recommendation of a current band member. Very rarely were unsolicited audition tapes accepted. In my case...I was one of the RARE and fortunate ones. In 1981 a large portion of Maynard's band quit at the same time and the next tour started in Chicago. I just happened to be living in Chicago at the time and my cousin Nick Drozdoff was already playing trumpet with the group. I had (at Nick's urging) sent in an audition tape. The top-call Chicago guy that they asked first turned it down and they gave me a try (thanks to Nick) I got the gig and my life from there on out was set!

@@SteveWiest21stCentury , thanks for sharing this. It's great to hear stories like this directly from the greats like you. I had no idea you and Nick Drozdoff were related.

+Alice Gariépy Its hard to find much on the late trumpet player John Donnelly from Scotland, However Maynard also spoke highly of hum. John can be found playing lead in the section on both MF Horn I and II. He's probably on one or two more. The one that had "Bridge Over Troubled Waters". Maybe another too. Maynard talked about Donnelly as having a system for playing the trumpet that was the exact opposite as his own. And I agree. Donnelly would angle his horn above the 90 degree perpendicular to his face. That and as he ascended he would angle the horn ever higher as he rose. I've been told from various resources that (Like Bergeron) John Donnelly was the real deal. That and his Double C's were painfully loud. He could absolutely crush any note upstairs.

Musically and technically, probably but Lyn Biviano and Lynn Nicholson were the most exciting and risk takers.

Don't forget Roger Ingram

+Bendik Vestrheim "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" by Michael Jackson.

+Bendik Vestrheim Cant get enough

That was an incredible band in the 70s!

And also, what's the name of the second song, please?

Thanks! The drummer is my pal Dave Mancini. He’s a monster.

+holykiller1191 Nelson Hill!

Nelson Hill

www.yamaha.com/artists/nelsonhill.html

Pretty much always had the absolute best. Everyone wanted to study at the University of Maynard Ferguson😍