Huge MF fan. Just about all of his records, spent my entire HS years on weekends transcribing 100’s of his songs to play along, got to spend time with the band in the 80’s, 100’s of shows under my belt. The reason I loved MF was the opportunity to hear in his music what made him so powerful, poised, and solid with his range. Sure there are High note players today that are just fantastic (Bergeron, Ingram, for instance) but nobody will ever come close to the style, charisma, stage presence, and kind of chart playing that Maynard Ferguson did. The mold was broken. All of that said, I absolutely detest the speed of this version/song. It takes away from all that made you listen to MF. It’s just too fast to see how powerful he was. RIP Boss
If your a player you know you just have to see how far you can push it up and still keep it clean!!! And did they. Kicks musicians off their feet, you know? That's the goal for them in two ways but would need to hear from sk Some who was there.
Our Phi Mu Alpha chapter hosted our first annual Jazz Festival back in March of 1976 and we featured the Maynard Ferguson Orchestra as the final performance of the evening. We were fortunate to have none other than Dennis Noday as one of the adjudicators during the festival. When chatting with him about what the band was going to play at the concert that evening he said "Give It One Burnout!" He said they were playing it so fast you couldn't count it off. He said Maynard simply tossed a towel up in the air and when it hit the stage floor they started playing. We all laughed! But that night Maynard tossed a towel into the air and when it hit the floor BAM!!! We were damned good college players (we thought) but we all wanted to toss our axes in the trash after we heard that! Unbelievable!! I have never heard a band that tight before or since! BH
Hey, Brother! Our Eta Beta Sinfonian chapter hosted Maynard's orchestra at Pembroke State University in October of '81. And we were fortunate to have Stan Mark & Mike Migliore as our adjudicators. I was lucky to get chummy with Stan and after the concert, he threw me the MF shirt off his back. :-) Unfortunately, an uncaring act from a sister saw it sitting in a box on trash day while I was off touring with my own band. :-( No one was/is better than Maynard!
Ha! Our high school jazz band played this for our winter concert my senior year... then we went to see Maynard in concert and realized we hadn't even come close LOL a humbling experience.
It is so funny that Maynard always had a mic in front of him, but it was never on. If you ever heard him live, he didn't need no stinkin' microphone. I saw him several times at a dinner theater where every seat was within about 50 feet of his bell. Deafening sound. That poor micro[hone. :) ( I guess he played flugelhorn rarely, and could have used the mic then.)
Oh... I heard. Both are top shelf. This tune could easily get out of control but the rhythm section held it solid even though they both are moving at blinding speed. Great stuff.
Sax player here and ya, ya, dat s.sax solo and all, but you gotta fucking give it up for mr. Peter Erskine on drums. Dude worked overtime on this song!
As amazing a player as Wayne is, he is a technician, when Maynard was more or less primal on his approach to playing. It was about pure energy, sound, and less about technical facility, as in the 1950’s
Maynard & his band played Birdland the same nights that Miles & his band (with Trane) played. When one band finished their set, the other band would have 5 minutes to take the stage...5 sets a night. Strikes me as an odd juxtapositioning of acts/styles, hence, crowds.
It’s seems it was recorded fast. I could be wrong, but it seems to be almost impossible for the band to go that fast. I love this song, favorite 40 years ago. It’s not how the original tempo is. But I could be wrong. If so, I’ve never heard any band play that fast and tight.
Maynard did two things to ruin this song which I think is the best song in his entire book. First, way too fast. Second, doing that bridge in stop time and playing each note one at a time slowly. I know everybody else seems to love it but I far prefer the recorded version on MF Horn Two. It doesn't make any sense to play this thing so ridiculously fast and then all of a sudden come to a stop time just to return back to the fast. I think playing the bridge the same tempo as the rest of the song is much more impressive.
Imagine playing this song 300 times. I would get bored too. That is most likely why they changed the tempo. They wanted to challenge each other to see how fast they could play it well. I find it amusing with people who say they can play this or that song like Maynard, or Doc (or your favorite touring artist). Great. Now play it at the same high level EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. Our High school hosted Maynard twice. A video or audio recording does not do justice to the energy and power of Maynard's band live. He inspired millions of kids during his career to play an instrument. What a legacy!!
@@FiestaFunny I too have been at a few Maynard Ferguson live performances. And yes, you are correct, he does turn up the amplifiers to ear damaging levels. (Although the worst I had ever been to was a Buddy Rich concert. I had to cover my ears with my hands during every song. It was a pleasure to leave. My ears rang for hours afterwards. That's not music.) As for the tempo issues as I said it is my opinion. And I also recognized the fact that there apparently is a majority that prefers the ridiculousness to musicality.
@@FiestaFunny I would also add that your argument about playing the same song 300 times is a non-starter. It's their job man. What is your job? Do you do the same thing over and over again everyday? How about a ditch digger or a construction worker? They do the same thing everyday for their entire lives. If I had my choice I think I would rather earn my living playing the trumpet doing what I enjoy. So don't give me that crap about doing the same song 300 times. They are supposed to be professionals. If they're not, they need to go out and start digging ditches. Let them try that out for a while.
@@BillSmith-rx9rm Yo Jazzman. Chill out. You commented your opinion. I can tell you I worked a production job for years. Every day I wanted to do a little more. Be a bit more productive. Push myself. I'm sure that's all this is. The players picked this tune and pushed the tempo envelope. Play it a bit faster every time. Honestly I prefer it a tad slower myself. But I can also be amazed at this tempo and marvel at how fast it is and wonder how in the hell it doesn't fall apart.
