Jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson dead at 78

Posted:
Aug 24, 2006

Canadian-born jazz trumpeter and big band leader Maynard Ferguson, who recorded the Rocky theme song "Gonna Fly Now," died Wednesday night at 78.

Ferguson, whose recording earned him one of three Grammy nominations, was known for his legendary high notes. He died at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, California after an abdominal infection resulted in kidney and liver failure.

His four daughters, Kim, Lisa, Corby and Wilder, and other family members were at his side when he died, said friend and manager Steven Schankman.

"Someone just said, 'Gabriel, move over to second trumpet,'" Schankman said from his St. Louis office. "He was the last of the greats. That era is closed. There is no Kenton, no Basie, no Ellington, and now, no Ferguson."

Ferguson was one of several jazz soloists in Urbanissimo, a 1966 animated short from Hubley Studios. The six-minute film was a comic allegory in which a runaway city on legs matches wits with a wily farmer.

Ferguson was doing some studio work in Los Angeles when he got the call to come to a recording session on August 4, 1966 at United Recording. Benny Carter had pulled the session together, and they laid down a track called "Urbanissimo" for this film.

Ferguson was called on for some high-note soloing. Other soloists were Ray Brown, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Pete Jolly and Shelly Manne.

He also played with such other greats as Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Kenton, Duke Ellington, Charlie Barnett and Jimmy Dorsey.

Weeks ago, he and his Big Bop Nouveau Band had finished recording an album. They also played several sold-out performances late last month at New York's Blue Note Club.

In September, Ferguson was to kick off a fall tour, starting in Tokyo, in September. He also had been invited to play in January at the 80th birthday celebrations for Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

An arranger, producer and music educator, Ferguson was invested as a member of the Order of Canada in December 2004.

Ferguson was born in Montreal suburb on May 4, 1928. In his childhood, he took music lessons in several different instruments.

At age 13, he was a featured soloist with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Orchestra. Four years later, he led his first band.

Ferguson moved to New York in 1949, joining Stan Kenton's band. After a five-year stint with Kenton, he headed to Hollywood, playing trumpet for scores in such films as The Ten Commandments.

He recorded over 60 albums over the years. He was named "trumpeter of the year" by DownBeat magazine three times.

In 1997, Ferguson was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. That year, his biography, MF Horn: Maynard Ferguson's Life in Music, was published.

A designer of several musical instruments, Ferguson was also as a teacher and mentor to young musicians. Additions to his band lineup included Chick Corea, Chuck Mangione, Bob James, Wayne Shorter and Joe Zawinul.

He found time out from his constant tours to teach master classes in music.

Maynard Ferguson was predeceased in February 2005 by Flo, his wife since 1952. He will be cremated in Ojai, California, where he had lived.

His family plans a memorial concert in St. Louis, where Schankman established the University of Missouri's Maynard Ferguson Music Scholarship.