Maynard Ferguson - With His Own Bands: Early Years 1954-57 (CD)

Details: Maynard Ferguson - With His Own Bands: Early Years 1954-57 / Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson was something of a prodigy as a youngster, playing solos with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Orchestra broadcasts when he was 13 years old, and was always destined for a career in music, training at the Conservatoire in Montreal until 1948. He moved to the USA and played with the bands of Boyd Raeburn, Jimmy Dorsey and Charlie Barnet before joining Stan Kenton for an extended stint in the early '50s. The recordings featured here represent his first forays into recording leading his own bands. This 43-track 2-CD collection comprises all the titles (excluding one which could not be included for reasons of space) from his albums on the Emarcy label "The Maynard Ferguson Octet", "Dimensions", "Around the Horn with Maynard Ferguson" and "Boy with Lots of Brass", with line-ups ranging from an octet to a 13-piece big band. It features many original compositions, with a number by tenor saxophonist and arranger Bill Holman, along with arrangements of classic Songbook standards, with the musicians involved including Bud Shank, Shelly Manne, Milt Bernhart, Herb Geller, Georgie Auld, Red Callender, Nino Tempo, Ray Linn, Bill Holman, Ray Brown, Alvin Stoller, Bobby Timmons, Larry Bunker and many more. It's an intriguing and entertaining insight into his work as he leads his own bands on record for the first time

Tracklist:

1. Finger Snappin'
2. My New Flame
3. Autumn Leaves
4. Inter-Space
5. 20 Rue de Madrid
6. What Was Her Name?
7. Yeah
8. Egad Martha
9. Breakfast Dance
10. Maiden Voyage
11. Thou Swell
12. The Way You Look Tonight
13. All God's Children Got Rhythm
14. Slow Stroll
15. Wonder Why
16. Willie Nillie
17. Hymn to Her
18. Lonely Town
19. Somewhere Over the Rainbow
20. Mrs. Pitlack Regrets
21. Never You Mind
22. Pork Pie
23. Dream Boat
24. Well Hardly Ever
25. The Roamin' Showman
26. Dancing Nitely
27. Ain't Life Grand
28. Idyll
29. Open Sesame
30. C'est la Blues
31. Wildman
32. Give Me the Simple Life
33. My Funny Valentine
34. The Lamp Is Low
35. Imagination
36. The Song Is You
37. Jeepers Creepers
38. Love Me or Leave Me
39. A Foggy Day
40. Easy to Love
41. Moonlight in Vermont
42. I Hadn't Anyone Till You
43. I Never Knew