Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often served as stepping stones for up-and-coming talent, his versatility on several instruments, and his ability to play in a high register.
Ferguson was born in Verdun (now part of Montreal), Quebec, Canada. Encouraged by his parents, he started playing piano and violin at the age of four. At nine years old, he heard a cornet for the first time in his local church and asked his parents to buy one for him. When he was thirteen, he soloed with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Orchestra. He was heard frequently on the CBC, notably featured on a "Serenade for Trumpet in Jazz" written for him by Morris Davis. He won a scholarship to the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal where he studied from 1943 to 1948 with Bernard Baker.
Ferguson dropped out of the High School of Montreal when he was fifteen to pursue a music career, performing in dance bands led by Stan Wood, Roland David, and Johnny Holmes. Although trumpet was his primary instrument, he also performed on other brass and reed instruments. He took over the dance band formed by his saxophonist brother Percy, playing dates in the Montreal area and serving as an opening act for touring bands from Canada and the U.S. During this period, he came to the attention of American bandleaders and began receiving offers to go to the U.S.
In 1948, Ferguson moved to the United States, intending to join Stan Kenton's band, but it no longer existed, so Ferguson played with the bands of Boyd Raeburn, Jimmy Dorsey, and Charlie Barnet. The Barnet band included Doc Severinsen, Ray Wetzel, Johnny Howell, and Rolf Ericson. Ferguson was featured on Barnet's recording of "All The Things You Are" by Jerome Kern. The recording enraged Kern's widow and was withdrawn from sale.
In January 1950, Kenton formed the Innovations Orchestra, a 40-piece jazz orchestra with strings. After the folding of the Barnet band, Ferguson was available for the first rehearsal on January 1. One of the Orchestra's recordings was named "Maynard Ferguson," one of a series of pieces named after featured soloists. When Kenton returned to a more practical 19-piece jazz band, Ferguson continued with him at third chair with numerous solo features. Notable recordings from this period that feature Ferguson include "Invention for Guitar and Trumpet", "What's New?", and "The Hot Canary".
In 1953, Ferguson left Kenton and spent the next three years as principal trumpet for Paramount Pictures. He appeared on 46 soundtracks, including The Ten Commandments. He also played on several other non-Paramount film soundtracks, usually those with jazz scores. Ferguson can clearly be discerned on several soundtracks from the time, including the Martin and Lewis films Living It Up and You're Never Too Young. He still recorded jazz, but his Paramount contract prevented him from playing in jazz clubs. This was sometimes circumvented by appearing under aliases such as "Tiger Brown" or "Foxy Corby". Although he enjoyed the steady income, he was unhappy with the lack of live performance opportunities and left Paramount in 1956.
Ferguson played with the Pérez Prado Orchestra on the LP Havana 3 A.M., recorded in February and March 1956. In 1956, he joined the Birdland Dream Band, a 14-piece big band formed by Morris Levy as an "all-star" line-up, to play at Levy's Birdland jazz club in New York City. Although the name "Birdland Dream Band" was short-lived and is represented by only two albums over the course of a year, this band became the core of Ferguson's performing band for the next nine years.
The band included Mike Abene, Jaki Byard, Bill Chase, Ronnie Cuber, Frankie Dunlop, Don Ellis, Joe Farrell, Dusko Goykovich, Tony Inzalaco, Rufus Jones, Willie Maiden, Ron McClure, Rob McConnell, Don Menza, Lanny Morgan, Wayne Shorter, and Joe Zawinul. Those who were both arrangers and performers included Herb Geller, Slide Hampton, Bill Holman, and Don Sebesky.
In 1959, Ferguson was a guest with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Leonard Bernstein, performing Symphony No. 2 in C "Titans" by William Russo.
In 1961, Ferguson composed the theme music for the 1961–1962 ABC adventure drama television series Straightaway. His 1961 album "Straightaway" Jazz Themes contained the music he composed for the series.
As big bands declined in popularity and economic viability in the 1960s, Ferguson's band performed less frequently. He began to feel musically stifled and sensed a resistance to change among his American jazz audiences. According to an interview in DownBeat, he was quoted as saying that if the band did not play "Maria" or "Ole," the fans went home disappointed. He began performing with a sextet before shutting down his big band in 1966.
Millbrook, India, and psychedelics
After leaving his long-time recording contract and the end of his main club gig, Ferguson moved his family to the Hitchcock Estate in Millbrook, New York in November 1963 to live with Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, and their community from Harvard University. He and his wife Flo used LSD, psilocybin and other psychedelic drugs. They lived at Millbrook for about three years, playing clubs and recording several albums. Ferguson was mentioned in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, which detailed the psychedelic scene.
In 1967, as the Millbrook experiment was ending, Ferguson moved his family to India and taught at the Krishnamurti-based Rishi Valley School near Madras. He was associated with the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning's Boys Brass Band, which he founded and helped teach for several years. While in India, he was influenced by Sathya Sai Baba, whom he considered as his spiritual guru.
As a Canadian in England, Ferguson avoided the union's ban on American musicians. In 1969, he moved to Oakley Green, a hamlet on the outskirts of Windsor, near London. He had two houses while he was in the UK, the final one a three-story house by the River Thames. That same year, Ferguson signed with CBS Records.
He started a sixteen- to eighteen-piece big band with British musicians playing jazz rock. The band got attention for its version of "MacArthur Park" by Jim Webb. Ferguson's band made its North American debut in 1971.
In 1970 he led the band on The Simon Dee Show from London Weekend Television.
Ferguson moved to New York City in 1973, then relocated to Ojai, California less than two years later. He replaced the British band members with American musicians while reducing membership to twelve: four trumpets, two trombones, three saxophones, and a three-piece rhythm section. Albums from this period include M.F. Horn 4&5: Live At Jimmy's and Chameleon, recorded in 1973 and 1974 in New York. Ferguson took advantage of the burgeoning jazz education movement by hiring musicians from colleges with jazz programs, such as Berklee College of Music, North Texas State University and the University of Miami. He performed for young audiences and gave master classes in colleges and high schools. This strategy helped him develop an audience that sustained him for the rest of his career.