King of the High C Verdun, Que.-born trumpet player Maynard Ferguson spent the tail end of the big band era in Canada before making a name for himself in the U.S. in the late ‘ 40s and ’50s with bands led by such notables as Boyd Raeburn, Jimmy Dorsey, Charlie Barnet and Stan Kenton, with whom he won three consecutive Downbeat Magazine Readers’ Polls. Noted for his soaring, double high C range on the trumpet, Ferguson has never allowed nostalgia to get in the way of staying in touch with current musical tastes.
After a move to England in 1967, he toured North America extensively in the early ’70s, ultimately becoming a hit with high school and college audiences playing flashy, jazz/rock arrangements of contemporary hits. In the ’90s, Ferguson continues to tour the world with his big Bop Nouveau ensemble.
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