MAYNARD FERGUSON - Memories of Maynard: The Best of the Columbia Years (New 2018 Remasters)
SNR005CD
Not sure who all this is aimed at. If you are a Maynard devotee, you probably have versions of the pieces. If you are new, this is not the best place to start, probably the worst place to start.
Maynard Ferguson was a phenomenal trumpet player. He was also a good leader of a jazz band. His technique was undoubted, his taste was sometimes questionable. His technical ability in his early years was often used to add fire and zest to trumpet sections. The Kenton bands and his own early bands had a power and range that is still unequalled.
At his best, probably the Roulette period, he had bands that were tight, rhythmically intricate and full of interesting soloists: Jaki Byard, Willie Maiden, Don Ellis, Joe Zawinul and Rufus Jones. Arrangers such as Benny Golson, Bill Holman, Joe Farrell and Bill Matthieu all worked for him.
The seventies were not easy times for large jazz groups. Maynard’s response was combative and he was very gladiatorial. You can see from the titles on this CD that he was not afraid to delve into the classics with pieces like ‘Pagliacci’, film music with ‘Star Trek’.
The trick, as far as this album is concerned, seems to have been to put a funk disco beat under everything so that all the pieces sound more or less the same. Maynard blasts away on the beautiful delicate melody from ‘Scheherazade’ and loses its originality. ‘Over The Rainbow’ with some artists can sound heart-breaking, here it sounds trite and tasteless. ‘Maria’ from West Side Story sounds like ‘Over The Rainbow’! Everything is irradiated with that thumping monotonous beat. The arrangements betray no originality.
In the notes Maynard is mentioned almost exclusively, few of his musicians are given recognition. There was some good material recorded in the seventies but it is not featured on this CD. All in all, although it bears his name, the album is a poor example of the what Maynard Ferguson can do. This is not the best of the Columbia years.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
SNR005CD
Not sure who all this is aimed at. If you are a Maynard devotee, you probably have versions of the pieces. If you are new, this is not the best place to start, probably the worst place to start.
Maynard Ferguson was a phenomenal trumpet player. He was also a good leader of a jazz band. His technique was undoubted, his taste was sometimes questionable. His technical ability in his early years was often used to add fire and zest to trumpet sections. The Kenton bands and his own early bands had a power and range that is still unequalled.
At his best, probably the Roulette period, he had bands that were tight, rhythmically intricate and full of interesting soloists: Jaki Byard, Willie Maiden, Don Ellis, Joe Zawinul and Rufus Jones. Arrangers such as Benny Golson, Bill Holman, Joe Farrell and Bill Matthieu all worked for him.
The seventies were not easy times for large jazz groups. Maynard’s response was combative and he was very gladiatorial. You can see from the titles on this CD that he was not afraid to delve into the classics with pieces like ‘Pagliacci’, film music with ‘Star Trek’.
The trick, as far as this album is concerned, seems to have been to put a funk disco beat under everything so that all the pieces sound more or less the same. Maynard blasts away on the beautiful delicate melody from ‘Scheherazade’ and loses its originality. ‘Over The Rainbow’ with some artists can sound heart-breaking, here it sounds trite and tasteless. ‘Maria’ from West Side Story sounds like ‘Over The Rainbow’! Everything is irradiated with that thumping monotonous beat. The arrangements betray no originality.
In the notes Maynard is mentioned almost exclusively, few of his musicians are given recognition. There was some good material recorded in the seventies but it is not featured on this CD. All in all, although it bears his name, the album is a poor example of the what Maynard Ferguson can do. This is not the best of the Columbia years.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
