Customer Reviews

Maynard Ferguson's Horn, Vol. 6: Live at Ronnie's

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

 

 

It's Maynard Ferguson's last CD...so that makes it special all by itself. Certainly the Boss continued to amaze all right up to the end. And much has been made of his "resurgence" in recent months with the new horn and all.

But candidly, this recording was too late. The band is not the top line it could have been.

Patrick Hession does a great job on lead trumpet and plays some wild notes in the Hit Medley covering the Boss's old parts. Stockton Helbing is a fine and gifted drummer who has matured nicely as part of the band over the years, graduating to music director this go round.

But otherwise, not the greatest performance turned in.

Still, a worthwhile buy because it was the final new recording of one of the all time great impact trumpeters.

It's amazing that Maynard Ferguson, well into his mid-70's at the time of this recording, was still able to play trumpet with the power and precision that he displays on this CD. It's even more impressive knowing that by 2005 (when this was recorded) he had survived more than 55 years of touring and traveling with various bands. Truly he was a force of nature, and there are some snippets here that hint at this virtuosity.

However, when compared with other work from Maynard's career, this is not one of his better efforts. Maynard's playing on this CD includes a few forays into the upper register, but in general he lacks the real physical ability and creative spark that so many of his early CD's display. And even though earlier in his career Maynard was a more-than-acceptable soloist and improviser, you don't get to hear a lot of lower-register Maynard on this disc, either. If this were the first MF album you'd ever heard, I think you'd walk away wondering how he built the career and devoted fan following that he (still) has.

As usual Maynard is fronting an eager band of talented young musicians. And there are a couple of good arrangements and entertaining songs here. But the overall quality of the arrangements and the band does not make it stand alone as a top-notch big band album; Maynard aside, the performances and the arrangements are just OK, and not up to par with a long list of other current big band CD's on the market. Particularly painful is the "MF Hit Medley": this worked well to appease live audiences who wanted to hear a bit of everything from Maynard's career, but on CD it's a choppy, disjointed collection of phrases and melodies that doesn't hang together. If you're enough of a Maynard Ferguson plan to recognize all these "greatest hits" from his career, you'd rather hear the originals.

So -- kudos to Maynard for years of inspiration and dedication, and for recording some licks on this CD that would put many younger players to shame. Unfortunately for this CD, it doesn't meet the standards of so many other albums of his work that are still available on the market. If you're an extremely dedicated fan, you may want to pick this up, but there are easily another dozen MF CD's you ought to own before exploring this one.

Maynard and his band always sound better live. And this album is Maynard's last live recording. Honestly, Maynard sounds a bit tired at times, but when he soars into the stratosphere he sounds like the Maynard of old. I enjoy all the tracks on this CD, and have listened to them all at least a half-dozen times in the past month.

If you come in expecting a Maynard Ferguson album with him sounding like he did 40 years ago, forget it. But if you are looking for a great band playing some fantastic charts, please stop here.

My favorite track is "A Frame For The Blues", a long-time standard for the band.

A fine live album from trumpet master Maynard Ferguson, unfortunately his last live recording. Maynard was the best at upper register playing. Yes, others could "hit" the same notes as Maynard , but only Maynard could "PLAY" them. The tone , beauty and mastery was unique indeed.
Having seen Maynard dozens of times in a live setting over a 3O year span , he truly enjoyed every live show. This recording is a true representation of a young band playing their hearts out for "The Boss". Even at 74+ Maynard still "PLAYS" every note he goes for. RIP Maynard.

I agree with one reviewer that the play is sometimes a little sloppy, but...hey, this guy was in his late 70s when he recorded this. I watched him one last time in January 2005, and he played some of the songs on this CD. So it's a little sentimental for me to listen again. I saw him first in 1974, several times in the 1980s and 1990s, and finally in 2005. Even though this isn't the "tightest" of his albums, it still leaves me a little misty-eyed. Farewell, Maynard. Thanks for everything!

Overall maybe 3 stars. The Band gets 4 stars - MF "always" has the most wonderful sidemen. Hession gets 5 for effort. Sadly, I cannot rate the "Great Mans" performance. At age 77 in 2005 when this was recorded, he appears to be way out of sorts. I have heard he was having several health issues at this time. Never the less, MF fans - add it to the collection.

Skip ahead almost 1 year to the newly released "The One and Only" recording (apparently not available on Amazon as of 6/2007) and be prepared for a wonderful resurrection. Granted, it is not the MF we knew in his prime. But for this superman of 78 years it is a farewell effort worth its weight in gold.

Ironically, and very sadly, a month after recording "The One and Only" he was gone.

Not his best by far, but it was a pleasure to hear his last album feature standards - with a MF twist, naturally. A must-have for collectors and fans alike of this high note-hitting Canadian.

Maynard's music lives on in this great concert CD, recorded live at Ronnie's Jazz Club in London on August 4-7, 2005. It's one of Maynard's very best live CDs--and, of course, that's saying a lot. Maynard is a natural, not only on the horn, but in his stage presence as well. Here he is laid back and playing in top form, both solos and ensembles. Having seen him in person a number of times during the 1970s through the 1990s, this recording brings it all back in the nicest possible way. There's Maynard blasting away, then introducing and encouraging his hand-picked and always talented sidemen, an inspired turn by one-of-a-kind Denis DiBlasio on sax and vocals, and the MF hit medley for welcome nostalgia and to remind us of the music and style that drew us to this unique musician and individual over all those years. For a Maynard fan, playing and enjoying this CD over and over will be a tribute to the man and his memory that I'm sure he would appreciate and treasure. He was one of the most fan-friendly of world-class celebrities; he always had time for the people who came to see and cheer him. We were indeed lucky to have him to entertain and educate us for all his years, and we are fortunate that this engagement was recorded so we can take 'one more trip to Birdland' with him.
1. Blue Birdland 2. The Girl From Ipanema 3. Frame For The Blues 4. But Beautiful 5. Milestones 6. I'm Old Fashioned 7. Blues From Around Here 8. MF Hit Medley 9. Blue Birdland. Over 70 minutes, with excellent live sound quality. (And there is a Maynard Ferguson website with lots of information).