Customer Reviews

Live at the Top

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Serve yourself up a dish of Maynard Ferguson at his prime very best at this live performance 'At the Top'.

All of the songs are from his finest moments in his early 70's big band selections. Back in the days when Maynard reached out to a newer younger hip audience on college campuses (as did Buddy Rich), this DVD is a must for those of you who enjoy his music. You won't be dissapointed at all.

For those of you who are just plain old fashionied back in the back of the band bass players, I highly encourage you to purchase this DVD for the incredible, one-of-a-kind bass fiddle solo at the beginning of the song La Fiesta. My fingers hurt from watching this incredible young bass player bang out a fantastic solo that is simply unmatched in anything that I have ever heard out of the bass fiddle. This guy takes center stage, and just owns the audience. Your fingers will ache too after watching this superb performance.

Maynard represents the last of a breed of big band players, and his style was the 'screech' trumpet. Maynard hits all of the high notes and then some.

Trumpet players take heed...........this is the cat who invented this style and made it famous.

Get this one for the record and your enjoyment.

Let's face it, for those of us who played in High School Jazz bands in the early and mid-70's, when we said we like Jazz, we really meant we liked Maynard! There's nothing too sophisticated here, it's the "play as high, loud, and fast as you can" school of Big Bands that we remember (for better or worse!), but man, is it fun! Seeing the band laugh, smile, and just "have fun" brings it all back. My favorite performance on this DVD is Bruce Johnstone's extended intro on "Got the Spirit", reminding me why I loved this player and this band. The sound quality isn't great (I'd mark it 4 1/2 stars for that), but this IS the Maynard you remember!

Wow this is great news!! I too remember seeing this on TV and as a young trumpet player, I was astounded. I have a bootleg DVD of this performance but it is of poor-ish quality. Still, it relives a great concert.

The tracklist should be:

MacArthur Park

Chameleon

La Fiesta

I Can't Get Started

Gospel John

Got The Spirit

Not a bad one in the bunch. Too bad there is no Hey Jude. Maynard fans, start clicking!

First, here's the only bad news: the vintage sound recording on this DVD is worth only 2-3 stars, based on what the current-day listener is used to. It sounds sometimes like the portable tape recordings kids used to make at concerts like this. This is not as serious a flaw as it might be on another music DVD, however, first because so little film of Maynard Ferguson in concert is around at all and, most importantly, because the music and live performance itself is worth 10 stars! Those who saw Maynard and his great young musicians in person during the 1970's well remember the excitement they could generate and sustain for as long as they cared to play these amazing arrangements and inspired solos, and that's captured here about as well as it can be on film. Maynard is a great talent and musical original, a tireless supporter of young musicians who has, himself, given countless workshops and high school concerts, and a very nice, down-to-earth, friendly guy in person to fans and audiences. Anyone who has ever enjoyed listening to even one of his recordings should be thrilled by this DVD;I doubt you can sit still through these numbers. In addition, the price makes it one of the bargains of the year! Extras include a musical slide show, audio tracks of a hot concert at Carnegie Hall, and a spoken introduction by a fan who was there the night this show was filmed. Maynard's fans are among the most loyal in the world and the availability of this DVD will have them rejoicing and wanting more!

What a gift to see Maynard Ferguson back in the haydays. I saw Maynard in concert about a year ago, and watching him on this DVD really shows how powerful he still is today. This DVD is a classic for any Maynard Ferguson fan. It's a must have.

This DVD is for fans of Maynard Ferguson. It was produced from a 1974 public television broadcast and with that it in mind, the quality of the recording is great. I would reccommend this DVD to anyone who considers themselves a fan. The extras contained on the DVD are nice, but do not really add a whole lot to the overall experience of watching the performance. One extra is a dude who was sitting in the audience talking about going to the concert and the rest of the extras were live audio recordings of Maynard at concerts at other venues.

These are classic performances of classic Maynard songs with an incredible wealth of backup talent. If you are a Maynard fan, you need this DVD.

You love Maynard's playing? You'll LOVE this DVD, especially if you ever saw the MF band in the 70's.

This was clearly put together by Maynard fans FOR Maynard fans. I felt like I was back in the mid-70's with my MF t-shirt. Some classic MF charts, a killer band, terrific extras and Maynard towering over it all.

Note: one of the extras is a riveting reminiscence about the Stan Kenton chart "Maynard Ferguson" with comments from Maynard and vintage photos from Maynard's early days. A joy.

MAYNARD IS ON TOP OF HIS GAME. WHEN NOT JUMPING ALL OVER THE STAGE ENERGIZING THE BAND AND AUDIENCE HE GRABS HIS HORN AND BLOWS TO THE HIGH HEAVENS. THE TWELVE MEMBERS OF THE BAND REALLY SWING. GOSH, I WISH THOSE DAYS WERE BACK. THE FIRST DAY AFTER RECEIVING THE DVD I PLAYED IT SIX TIMES. THIS IS THE ERA WHEN ( OUTSIDE OF THE BIRDLAND DREAM BAND ) MAYNARD, HIS MUSIC AND BAND WAS AT ITS BEST. AS FAR AS THE DVD, VISUAL IS GOOD AND AUDIO LEAVES A LOT TO BE DESIRED. AUDIO FOR THE FIVE HORN TRUMPET SECTION IS POOR AND YOU HAVE TO LISTEN HARD BECAUSE THE HORNS ARE GREAT. A DEFINITE MUST HAVE FOR ALL MAYNARD FOLLOWERS.

I HOPE SOMEONE IS CHECKING THEIR ARCHIVES FOR MORE MAYNARD MATERIAL. WHY NOT A DVD OF HIS CURRENT MUSIC. THE MAN IS AN ICON

The reason I can give this a superb review is because I have watched it for years since it's original airing on tv (pbs?) in the USA. I remember exactly where I was sitting as a kid and the way I felt when I saw the show. I cannot rave enough about it. It blew my mind when I heard they were coming out with a DVD because the VHS tape I have is in very poor condition.

Maynard showin' no stoppin' on this brillant performance taped live at the Plaza Hotel in Fall 1975 which aired on PBS. As I agree with many of the reviewers this the best live concert he did live hands down. It's shame that the Boss is not here with us today but he lives on thru us in our hearts. Songs listed as performed: McArthur Park, Chameleon, La Fiesta, I Can't Get Started, Gospel John and Got the Spirit.

Specially the bonus features on DVD are dynamic. Cool interviews with Bud Jackson (on his comments of the 1975 Carniege Hall Concert he recorded while Maynard was alive performing), Gregg Dispenza (his look back on how it all begin with the show on the DVD), Good Info, Photos, etc.

IF you like more info, go to the offical Maynard Ferguson website.