By Matt Schudel
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 25, 2006
Maynard Ferguson, the undisputed high-note king of the trumpet, who toured the world with his bands for 50 years and had a hit record with the theme from "Rocky," died Aug. 23 at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, Calif., from kidney and liver failure caused by an abdominal infection. He was 78.
A trumpeter of phenomenal range and endurance, Mr. Ferguson possessed a dazzling virtuosity that spanned classical music, jazz, rock, disco and Indian ragas. With an ebullient personality to match his dizzying flights on trumpet, he remained a popular and influential force in music to the end.
Although he didn't always receive critical acclaim, Mr. Ferguson was a perennial favorite of listeners, who admired his daredevil talent and who often discovered jazz through his exuberant, if somewhat exaggerated, music.
He found early fame in the 1950s as the anchor of the bold orchestral sound of the Stan Kenton Orchestra. For three years running, 1950 to 1952, he won the Down Beat magazine poll as the top trumpet player in jazz. After performing in Hollywood studios -- his trumpet can be heard in the soundtrack of "The Ten Commandments" and other films -- he began leading his own bands in 1956. Between jazz dates, he often appeared as a classical soloist in the 1950s and 1960s with the New York Philharmonic.
One of the few jazz musicians to find success in pop music, Mr. Ferguson had a hit in 1971 with his instrumental version of "MacArthur Park." His album featuring Bill Conti's "Gonna Fly Now," which became familiar as the theme for "Rocky," reached No. 22 on Billboard's pop charts in 1977.
Critics often said Mr. Ferguson was selling his talent short when he dabbled in formulaic disco music, overblown film scores and heavily amplified jazz-rock. In the past 15 years, as he returned to the straight-ahead jazz of his youth, he found renewed respect and eager audiences awaiting around the world.
"I think they missed hearing the same thing I missed playing," he told the Chicago Tribune in 1990. "I wanted real horns again, and real, nonelectronic instruments."
His groups reflected his personality -- "The whole evening starts out at a high intensity level and builds," one of his musicians said -- and had so much energy, one critic said, "they make a heavy-metal rock band like Led Zeppelin sound positively laid back."
Mr. Ferguson's bands became known for more than sheer energy, as he became a leading discoverer of musical talent. Among the musicians who passed through his groups were Al Cohn, Jaki Byard, Chick Corea, Chuck Mangione, Wayne Shorter and Don Menza.
He often vowed that he would never retire, and he was true to his word. Last month, during a run of sold-out performances at New York's Blue Note jazz club, Mr. Ferguson and his Big Bop Nouveau Band slipped away to a studio to record an album that is expected to be released later in the year. He was scheduled to begin a tour in Tokyo next month and was to perform for the king of Thailand in January.
He spent at least eight months of the year on the road, but he never tired of the arrangement and always managed to practice two hours a day. He particularly enjoyed leading clinics for high school and college musicians, most of which received no public fanfare. Working with young people gave him fresh ideas, he said, adding that nostalgia "isn't my game."
"Some guys change their wives every few years and their music remains the same," he said in the 1970s. "I've been married to the same woman over 20 years and my music keeps changing. I like it that way."
Mr. Ferguson was born May 4, 1928, in the Montreal suburb of Verdun. His mother was a professional violinist and teacher who helped introduce music to the Montreal schools. His father was a high school principal who stored musical instruments in the basement.
"I used to go down there with my brother, and they became our favorite toys," Mr. Ferguson said in 1997. "We used to play oboe and clarinet duets together."
He played the piano and violin by age 4. He was 9 when he became entranced by the trumpet and entered the French Conservatory of Music in Montreal. By 13, he had made his debut as a soloist with the Canadian Broadcasting Co. orchestra. He later dropped out of school to pursue jazz, first playing in a group led by his brother that featured another Montreal native on piano, Oscar Peterson.
After leading groups in Montreal and Toronto and opening for visiting American jazz stars such as Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie, Mr. Ferguson moved to the United States in 1948 and worked in bands led by Boyd Raeburn, Jimmy Dorsey and Charlie Barnet. He made the first of more than 60 albums as a leader in 1950, when he was with Kenton.
Mr. Ferguson's all-out style -- something between high art and a high-wire act -- amazed listeners at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1958 and led to a series of well-received recordings. But as rock-and-roll gained a foothold in the 1960s, he retreated to Upstate New York and became interested in the consciousness-raising experiments of his neighbor, Timothy Leary.
Mr. Ferguson moved to England in 1967, then spent a year in India, teaching music and exploring various spiritual ideas. During his later years, he spent six weeks a year in India and sometimes credited yoga with giving him the energy to hit high notes on his trumpet.
He returned to the United States in 1973 and eventually settled in Ojai, Calif., where he lived for more than 25 years. In 1976, he performed at the closing ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in Montreal.
Besides the trumpet, Mr. Ferguson played the trombone, piano, euphonium, clarinet and saxophone. He also found time to compose music and design musical instruments and mouthpieces. He invented two hybrid instruments called the firebird (a combination of valve and slide trumpet) and the superbone (a combination of valve and slide trombone).
Survivors include his wife of 54 years, Florence Ferguson; and five children.
Asked how he developed his amazing high-note technique, Mr. Ferguson attributed it to "innocence, instinct and a touch of ignorance."