Customer Reviews

Live From London

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of my favorite newer Maynard Ferguson albums. The group is simply great, and MF gives a lot of personality to the music. For someone of his age at the time (mid-sixties) his playing as absolutely astonishing. It's pretty amazing for any age actually. This whole album is full of energy and the charts are great, fun and swinging. Maynard really gets into something on "A Night In Tunisia", and he improvises with ease and control in the upper register, as always. The arrangement is a bit weird at times, and Maynard plays off the theme in an odd way. He also makes a great harmon mute solo at the end in dedication to Dizzy Gillespie, even using a mute that was given to him as a gift from Dizzy himself! There is a lot of good solo work on this tune. "In A Mellow Tone", a great remake of the Ellington classic, is probably my favorite performance here. The trumpets come in screaming right away, and then Walter White takes a really cool muted solo, wonderfully constructed and played. Then Maynard quotes "The Man I Love" and goes crazy, as expected. The lead trumpet of Roger Ingram is very prominent here, and he stays accurate throughout the song. The ensemble parts are brilliant. "St. Thomas", the fun Sonny Rollins composition, is a great chart given a latin feel, and a lot of people put in great soloing, especially the percussionists. They were perfect for this arrangement. On "Fox Hunt", Walter White and Maynard go at it, and Walter stands strong. His solo is crazy, well constructed yet again with brilliant high-note work/chops and crazy technique! Maynard fares well also, and it's fun to hear them go back and forth. Unfortunately, the sound quality of this track is not quite as good and some things sound a bit weird. "Rhythm Method" is a great fun chart by saxophonist Chip McNeil and Walter White comes back again with some more great soloing chops and trades around with Maynard for a while, who also gets some really good licks in. However, it is Chip who steals the show on tenor saxophone. He just goes insane on this song! "My One And Only Love" features Maynard on flugelhorn and Christian Jacob on piano. This is the only ballad on the set, but it is a worth one. Thankfully, the band doesn't overdo the screaming and pyrotechnics on this rather delicate piece, so everything sounds very good. "Glenn's Denn" is a feature for Glenn Kostur, which was recorded previously on the Live At Jimmy's album with Bruce Johnstone, and also on many other previous efforts with the Birdland Dream Band. Glenn Kostur goes absolutely nuts! It almost makes me want to go and pick up a baritone saxophone! Absolutely crazy. His solo is well constructed and keeps your attention even though it is quite lengthy. Then Ingram comes in with the shout chorus and Maynard starts screaming up to a double high D to finish this album. Overall, the only criticism I have of the album is that Maynard's sound isn't the greatest in some parts, but for someone of his age to be playing like this is unbelievable. The energy level of this performance is great. I loved to hear Walter White on this record. If you are a Maynard fan, don't let go of this one.

This is smokin. The version of Night in Tunisia is the best yet, everybody, I mean everybody solos. The sax work of Matt Wallace and Chip McNiel are second to none. Percussion, as usual will blow your mind. Maynard has no problems hitting the triple high C's live.....a smoker. A high energy disc.

DOE MAYNARD FERGUSON HAVE A SONG TITLED, ONE MORE TIME , OR ONE MO TIME? I BELIEVE IT'S COULD BE A LIVE VERSION, NOT REALLY SURE. TOWARDS END OF SONG HE SAYS, ONE MORE TIME! THEN STARTS JAMING AGAIN. IF ANY ONE KNOWS THIS TITLE, I WOULD GREATLY APPRICIATE IT.
THANKS,
RICK DEAR

This is definitely my favorite Maynard! The high energy level is amazing and compares to none of his other albums. A definite buy!

THIS ALBUM IS EXCELLENT! THE ARRANGEMENTS ARE BIG AND THE BAND SWINGS, LED BY ONE OF MAYNARD'S STRONGEST TRUMPET SECTIONS EVER. THE HIGH ENERGY OF THE BAND AND MAYNARD COMES ACROSS WONDERFULLY! (BY THE WAY, THE BASS PLAYER ON THIS ALBUM, NATHAN BERG, WAS 17 YEARS OLD AT THE TIME OF THE RECORDING!)

OK. I can't lie to you and say this album sucks. It's a good'un. But so is everything that gets put out by Maynard's band. They are tight. No question.

The tunes have lots of energy, and the ensemble playing is, as usual, great. I love "Rhythm Method" and "St. Thomas." All the soloists are on fire.

BUT...anyone looking for Maynard's chops is going to be dissappointed. OK, so he still gets up there. OK, so it's higher than many have accomplished in their prime - but that's just it. He's well past his prime, and this album shows it. His tone is less solid as he ascends, and he just plain can't get high enough to really impress me anymore.

Sure, this album has tons of energy, but so do all the MF Horn albums, so does Chameleon, and so does all of his other stuff. If you're lookin' for Maynard chop spectaculars, go find a vinyl copy of an MF horn album (stupid label hasn't re-released them on CD). If you're a fanatic, though, or just love Big Bop's energy, Enjoy!

This is one of Maynards best albums ever. Every track on the album screams with excitement and power. Maynard is one of the most daziling trumpet players ever. His band is the best ever with absolutly amazing solos on A Night in Tunisa and many other tracks. I definite buy!

This CD has some good parts, but it doesn't have the "feel" like some of his others do.