Maynard Ferguson - With His Own Bands: Early Years 1954-57 (CD)

Maynard Ferguson - With His Own Bands: Early Years 1954-57 / Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson was something of a prodigy as a youngster, playing solos with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Orchestra broadcasts when he was 13 years old, and was always destined for a career in music, training at the Conservatoire in Montreal until 1948. He moved to the USA and played with the bands of Boyd Raeburn, Jimmy Dorsey and Charlie Barnet before joining Stan Kenton for an extended stint in the early '50s. The recordings featured here represent his first forays into recording leading his own bands. This 43-track 2-CD collection comprises all the titles (excluding one which could not be included for reasons of space) from his albums on the Emarcy label "The Maynard Ferguson Octet", "Dimensions", "Around the Horn with Maynard Ferguson" and "Boy with Lots of Brass", with line-ups ranging from an octet to a 13-piece big band. It features many original compositions, with a number by tenor saxophonist and arranger Bill Holman, along with arrangements of classic Songbook standards, with the musicians involved including Bud Shank, Shelly Manne, Milt Bernhart, Herb Geller, Georgie Auld, Red Callender, Nino Tempo, Ray Linn, Bill Holman, Ray Brown, Alvin Stoller, Bobby Timmons, Larry Bunker and many more. It's an intriguing and entertaining insight into his work as he leads his own bands on record for the first time

Track List:

Disc: 1

1. Finger Snappin'
2. My New Flame
3. Autumn Leaves
4. Inter-Space
5. 20 Rue de Madrid
6. What Was Her Name?
7. Yeah
8. Egad, Martha
9. Breakfast Dance
10. Maiden Voyage
11. Thou Swell
12. The Way You Look Tonight
13. All God's Children Got Rhythm
14. Slow Stroll
15. Wonder Why
16. Willie Nillie
17. Hymn to Her
18. Lonely Town
19. Somewhere Over the Rainbow
20. Mrs. Pitlack Regrets

Disc: 2

1. Never You Mind
2. Pork Pie
3. Dream Boat
4. Well, Hardly Ever
5. The Roamin' Showman
6. Dancing Nitely
7. Ain't Life Grand
8. Idyll
9. Open Sesame
10. C'est la Blues
11. Wildman
12. Give Me the Simple Life
13. My Funny Valentine
14. The Lamp Is Low
15. Imagination
16. The Song Is You
17. Jeepers Creepers
18. Love Me or Leave Me
19. A Foggy Day
20. Easy to Love
21. Moonlight in Vermont
22. I Hadn't Anyone Till You
23. I Never Knew