Walter Maynard Ferguson CM 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.
Attilio Joseph "Teo" Macero was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer. He was a producer at Columbia Records for twenty years. Macero produced Miles Davis' Bitches Brew, and Dave Brubeck's Time Out, which are two of the best-selling and most influential jazz albums of all time. Although the extent of his role has been disputed, he also has been associated with the production of Davis' 1959 album Kind of Blue, jazz's best-selling record.
Locksley Wellington "Slide" Hampton is an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. Described by critics as a master composer, arranger and uniquely gifted trombone player, Hampton's career is among the most distinguished in jazz. As his nickname implies, Hampton's main instrument is slide trombone, but he also occasionally plays tuba and flugelhorn.
Joseph Carl Firrantello, known as Joe Farrell, was an American jazz saxophonist and flautist. He is best known for a series of albums under his own name on the CTI record label and for playing in the initial incarnation of Chick Corea's Return to Forever.
Miles Davis at Fillmore is a 1970 live album by jazz trumpeter Miles Davis and band, recorded at the Fillmore East, New York City on four consecutive days, June 17 through June 20, 1970, originally released as a double vinyl LP. The performances featured the double keyboard set-up Davis toured with for a few months, with Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea playing electronic organ and Fender Rhodes, respectively. The group opened for Laura Nyro at these performances.
Dreams was one of the original prominent jazz rock bands in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The band was formed by Jeff Kent and Doug Lubahn, who wrote and arranged their songs. It began as a trio and evolved into a horn-based band over time. They were later joined by Will Lee, Don Grolnick, Bob Mann, and Eddie Vernon.
John Graas was an American jazz French horn player, composer and arranger from the 1940s through 1962. He had a short but busy career on the West Coast, and became known as a pioneer of the French horn in jazz.
M.F. Horn Two is a 1972 big band jazz album by Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson. It features cover versions of many songs that were popular in the years leading up to its production, including: "Theme from Shaft" by Isaac Hayes, "Country Road" by James Taylor, "Mother" by John Lennon, "Spinning Wheel" by David Clayton-Thomas and "Hey Jude" by The Beatles. It also features a track called "Free Wheeler" written by another highly regarded jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player, Kenny Wheeler.
City of Glass, an album originally issued as a 10" LP by Stan Kenton, consists entirely of the music of Bob Graettinger. The original album has been reconstituted in different LP re-issues, and the entire set of Kenton/Graettinger Capitol Records sessions is on the digital CD City of Glass.
Beauty Is a Rare Thing is a compilation box set collecting all the master recordings made for Atlantic Records between 1959 and 1961 by the American jazz composer and saxophonist Ornette Coleman. The set was released on Rhino Records in 1993, and reissued in March 2015.
Maynard Ferguson is a 1971 big band jazz album by Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson. The album was originally released on Columbia Records as Columbia 31117. It was also released in the UK by CBS under the name Alive & Well in London. The album largely consists of arrangements of popular songs of the period along with one original composition.
Steve Wiest(néJohn Stephen Wiest; born 1957) is an American trombonist, composer, arranger, big band director, music educator at the collegiate level, jazz clinician, author, and illustrator/cartoonist. From 1981 to 1985, he was a featured trombonist and arranger with the Maynard Ferguson Band. Wiest is in his fifth year as Associate Professor of Jazz Studies and Commercial Music at the University of Denver Lamont School of Music. He is the Coordinator of the 21st Century Music Initiative at the school. Wiest has been a professor for thirty of the thirty-eight years that he has been a professional trombonist, composer, and arranger. From 2007 to 2014, Wiest was Associate Professor of Music in Jazz Studies at the University of North Texas College of Music and, from March 2009 to August 2014, he was director of the One O'Clock Lab Band and coordinator of the Lab Band program. At North Texas, Wiest also taught conducting, trombone, and oversaw The U-Tubes — the College of Music's jazz trombone band. Wiest is a three-time Grammy nominee — individually in 2008 for Best instrumental Arrangement and in 2010 for Best Instrumental Composition, and collaboratively in 2010 for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, which he directed. As of 2013, Wiest has in excess of 58 arrangements and compositions to his credit, which include 10 original compositions from his current project (see 2013–2014 project, below).
M.F. Horn is Maynard Ferguson's second album on Columbia Records, and the first of his highly successful "M.F. Horn" series of albums. It was also released in Europe as The World of Maynard Ferguson — not to be confused with the Roulette compilation with the same title. His first record for CBS was filled with easy listening/pop recordings, but this would be Maynard's first foray into the world of rock music. His recording of "MacArthur Park" would prove very popular with his fans, and would be a concert staple for many years.
M.F. Horn 3 is an album by Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson. After Ferguson moved from England to the U.S. in 1973, his band changed, as British members were replaced by American musicians, primarily from colleges. The album was produced by Mike Smith and Teo Macero.
M.F. Horn 4&5: Live at Jimmy's is the 6th big band album by Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson for Columbia Records. Live at Jimmy's was recorded during a lunchtime event, where members of the press and record company executives were invited to hear Maynard and his band play a special two-hour mid-day concert.
Primal Scream is the eighth jazz album by Canadian trumpeter Maynard Ferguson on Columbia Records. Primal Scream marks the beginning of the second phase of Ferguson's career with Columbia, where his live big band sound is set aside in favor of lavish studio productions. The album credits reveal an all-star ensemble made up of New York's finest musicians, along with backing vocalists and strings were recruited for this release.
New Vintage is the tenth studio album by Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson released in 1977 on Columbia Records. The title is likely an allusion to new recordings of two 'vintage' titles included in the track list. "Maria" was first recorded on Maynard '62, and "Airegin" was first recorded in 1964 for the album Color Him Wild. The front cover plays on this theme, presenting a trumpet in an ice bucket in place of a bottle of champagne, while on the back cover, the cork is seen popping out of the trumpet's bell.
Carnival is the 11th album by Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson on Columbia Records. This is yet another attempt to replicate the success of Conquistador. Another big theme song, a couple of originals, a blast from the past, and a cover of "Birdland", which was well received.
The Best of Maynard Ferguson is the first compilation album and 13th overall by Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson on Columbia Records. The 1980 release opens with Maynard's biggest hit "Gonna Fly Now", before going on a tour of some of his best work for Columbia, featuring no less than 4 major theme songs along the way.
The Essence of Maynard Ferguson is the third compilation album by Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson on Columbia Records. It was released in 1993 as part of Columbia/Legacy's budget line I Like Jazz series. At the time of its release, this was the only Compact disc available containing many of Maynard's recordings for Columbia.
