Maynard Ferguson
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Music • Historical Archive • 🇨🇦 Canada • 2 views

Maynard Ferguson 🇨🇦

Maynard Ferguson (Known as "Walter Maynard Ferguson")
Virtuoso Jazz Trumpeter, Big Band Leader, High-Register Master
Born 4 May 1928 🇨🇦 Verdun, Canada
Passed Away 23 August 2006 Ventura, United States
Lifespan 78 years old
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"If you play with joy and total conviction, the trumpet ceases to be a piece of brass and becomes a conduit of pure human spirit."

Archival Overview

Montreal-born jazz trumpet virtuoso whose astonishing high-register power, fiery big bands, and chart-topping "Gonna Fly Now" electrified global jazz.

Biographical Record

Walter Maynard Ferguson was a child musical prodigy in Montreal, performing with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation at age eleven. Moving to the United States in 1948, Ferguson stunned audiences as featured soloist in Stan Kenton's orchestra with his effortless, soaring control over the extreme upper register of the trumpet.

Ferguson formed his own high-energy big bands and jazz-rock ensembles, showcasing young talent and recording explosive hits like "Chameleon," "Birdland," and his Grammy-nominated disco-jazz theme to Rocky, "Gonna Fly Now." Inducted into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame, he mentored generations of brass players worldwide.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial
Ivy Lawn Memorial Park
Ventura, United States
GPS: 34.2667, -119.2333
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