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Maynard Ferguson at The Grey Eagle Tavern and Music Hall
April 8, 2004 - Asheville, North Carolina A review by Stephen Lovelady for the Maynard Ferguson High Life website
I’ve been to dozens of Maynard Ferguson concerts since my first one in 1978, but I’ve never taken the time to write a review of one. My journalistic skills are weak as I’ve spent most of my career working on the field of computer technology, but I will attempt to give a fair appraisal of the events as I saw them unfold. First I’ll get a few facts out of the way concerning the tunes played and who played them. Set List: Encores: The Band: Carl Fischer, Reggie Watkins and the rhythm section opened the show by playing two tunes. The first song wasn’t announced but the second one was called “Renaissance Man.” They played well and seemed to enjoy the opportunity to stretch out and do some improvising. I never noticed this before, but I think Carl places his trumpet off center towards the right side of his mouth like Maynard. I’ve never heard a teacher recommend this strategy, but I know it works for many people. Maynard was introduced by Reggie as “Concord Jazz recording artist, Maynard Ferguson” which surprised me, since I thought there was no formal relationship between Concord & MF at this point. Perhaps there is hope for a future recording to be released after all. Anyway, there was the usual excitement as Maynard approached the stage, stood at the appointed spot and played all the notes to “Blue Birdland” with power and flair. Throughout the night Maynard played clean and met or exceeded expectations on every note. In lieu of standing he often sat in a black swivel chair and directed the band much like Captain Kirk sitting at “the con.” He was joking and happy, almost euphoric throughout the concert, bouncing with energy and giving animated facial gestures non-stop. After one exceptionally involving chart where he was breathing heavily he mentioned that he was finally warmed up…and might need a medic! The audience eagerly traveled with Maynard into the stratosphere, anticipating each note like a crowd waiting to see if a football will make it through the uprights. These were real notes, not pinched squeals and he played each one like he owned it. Double C was no barrier for Maynard…in fact he saw it in his rear-view mirror several times as he passed it!
This man, even in advancing age, can do things with a trumpet that nobody else on earth has ever done - things that demand such physicality that it’s virtually impossible not to comment on his stature. I mean no disrespect whatsoever by the following comments, but as I watched Maynard as he sat in his chair, I could not help but think of Humpty Dumpty sitting on his wall. He's built much like a weather balloon, filled to capacity and ready to go ever higher. His diaphragm never noticeably moved as he breathed in or out, whether playing or not. His body works like a well designed machine that seems perfectly suited to the task at hand. The bass chair was filled admirably by Greg Butterfield, who was the surprise treat of the night for me. His solos were often enhanced electronically so as to be heard in 2 octaves at the same time and were very reminiscent of Gordon Johnson and some of the other bassists from the 1970’s and early 1980’s. It was obvious that Reggie and Maynard were really digging Greg's grooves. Patrick Hession was great in the lead chair and the entire trumpet section was tight. I’d like to hear them featured more as a section while the rest of the band lays back a bit. It was difficult to hear individual trumpet parts most of the time, as the lead was always very prominently mixed. Patrick has accomplished much since I last saw him in October 2002 and has matured into an extremely competent and dependable fixture on the band. He didn’t miss a note and breathed more fire than I have ever seen. Carl Fischer had a chance to shine on “The Fox Hunt” which is a duet with Maynard. I believe it was only the second public performance for him, so Maynard had some fun joking about the music stand and Carl’s site reading. The tempo was about half that from “Live at Jimmy’s” (which was fine with me) and Carl struggled a bit on the written part, but made up for it on the improvised solos where he looked quite at home. Patrick reached for the high note at the end and nailed it. Oh yes, Maynard had no trouble at all remembering his part, closing his eyes for much of it and effortlessly drawing upon past experience to sail through it.
As is normal during the “Hey Jude” portion of the medley, the trumpets came out front and eventually worked their way into the audience, but there was a twist. For the first time in my recollection they had what looked to be wireless microphones attached to their bells, which is not a bad idea, but what was unusual was that these "microphones" had colored lights on them that reflected red and green off the bells of their horns…an interesting, though somewhat distracting effect. You could tell piano player William Bonness had chops, but unfortunately he was straddled by the venue with a beat up, out of tune acoustic piano that had the effect of making it look like he was playing a manual typewriter. I enjoyed his performance on the Kurzweil keyboard much better and was really impressed with his work on “Caruso” which is a duet performed with only he and Maynard on stage as the first encore. Maynard worked the mood with hand gestures while he played like an Italian crooner or opera singer. If you’ve ever seen Tony Bennett perform live, you’ll know what I’m talking about. When the band came back on stage for the final “Birdland” encore, most of them sported shirts like a garage mechanic might wear with name patches over the chest. Maynard enjoyed the joke and invited an audience member close to the stage for a better look. Maynard suggested that they “looked like prisoners…my prisoners!”
I had a chance to meet with Maynard after the show for the first time ever thanks to tour manager Ed Sargent. Both gentlemen were extremely gracious and it was an honor to converse with them. There is much more I could say but this review is already a little on the long side. I’ll close by saying that even though the crowd was smaller than expected it didn't affect the quality of the performance for MF and the band. They are true professionals that always rise to the occasion…go out and see for yourself…you won’t be disappointed. |
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