Maynard Ferguson
Monday, August 28th, 2006What a sad day it was last week when I learned of Maynard Ferguson’s passing. As young trumpet players in middle school, we played Birdland and Chameleon, always trying to mimic Maynard’s screaming high notes. Hitting double high C was a rite of passage that we all worked toward, trying to mimic our trumpet hero.
Maynard was an amazing man. He was still doing 200+ gigs a year at 78 years old. I saw him in 2001 and 2005, and I’ve only seen one other performer who was that happy and old at the same time (saw B. B. King in 1998 and 1999). Maynard would do clinics with the school jazz band before the concert and always had something really nice to say about the band and the audience. He will be missed.