Night Letter
Maynard Ferguson's
Hollywood Party
EmArcy MG36046
1956
From the back cover: We don't have to be fortune tellers to know that if you, the reader of these notes, had a jazz record company, unlimited technical facilities, a great musician with untapped talent and another ten musicians who were virtually as great, you'd make records – the dream, not dreamy, variety.
And this long playing record is just that. EmArcy chief Bob Shad had the dream, the equipment, the star and the group to set off that star. It seems strange to talk of Maynard's untapped talent. After all he has been featured with Charlie Barnet and Stan Kenton to such an extent that he should have shown all buy now. But like many musicians who have been forced to specialize be use they're superlative at a particular thing, Maynard has seldom had the chance to play jazz, especially jazz below high "C".
It's safe to say that you've never really heard Maynard until you've heard these sides – heard him throughout his entire register, heard the intensity of jazz available within the almost limitless range of his technical ability.
Maynard was born on May 4th, 1928 in Montreal, Canada. He started playing piano and violin when he was four and was touring as a vaudeville act, playing sax, trombone, clarinet, trumpet, etc., not long after that. He studied at the French Conservatory of Music in Montreal, with teacher Benny Baker and lists his main influences as "Harry Edison, Louis Armstrong and meh Mother."
Maynard has always, for evident reasons, felt restricted bye the standard length of blowing time on recordings, even on supposedly unlimited time records. And, like most musicians, he is acutely conscious of the reproduction of sound. He's suffered from the lack of both. And that's why we can say again, that you've never heard Maynard until now. You nearly need a slide rule to measure the solo time on these sides and you'll be startled by the living presence of each musician. For Shad employed several recording innovations at this session. A microphone was hung several feet over the drums, for example, which accounts for the precise definition of Shelly Manne's work.
Then, this close to perfection, Maynard assembled his friends - musicians with whom he has lived and worked for several years. Bassist Curtis Counce, for example, who is only two years older than Maynard, is frequent visitor in Maynard's musical mansion. Influenced by Oscar Pettiford, Jimmy Blanton and Walter Page, but "mostly by my studying and arranging with Spud Murphy," Curtis says, "It's got to swing," and then goes on to prove it.
Bob Cooper's tenor similarly swings. Born in 1925, few fans knew of him until he joined Stan Kenton. He was influenced by Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, and Charlie Parker and his free time nowadays is taken up with studying.
Bob Gordon is Maynard's age. He's played baritone through the bands of Bill May, Stan Kenton and Chet Baker and he lists his influences as Charlie Parker, Zoot Sims, and Gerry Mulligan. Bud Shank, born in 1926, is, like Bob Cooper, studying arranging under Shorty Rogers. He's a Kenton alumnae, too, and his main influence was Lester Young. Russ Freeman is one of those yet unrecognized piano greats, and like Shelly, he was used on these recordings through the courtesy of Contemporary Records.
So the stage was set, the "actors" were put firmly in their place by the engineers, Maynard worked out two head arrangements and the tape began to roll for what turned out to be first-take recordings. No program is needed to keep track of the solos, and you'll only have eyes for ears in any case once your needle hits the opening tracks of either side of this LP.
But we can point out several things to watch for which will probably heighten your interest. There is one of the most fantastic piano-drum combinations that has ever been recorded, featuring abstract patterns by Russ and Shelly. Maynard returns on trumpet this time, about half way through the record and twice more before the ensemble ending.
On Somebody Loves Me Maynard shows off his beautiful tone. During Bud Shank's alto solo there's a sudden entrance of Bob Gordon's baritone for a wonderful counterpuntal section with two reeds until Bob Gordon's Barton branches off into his own solo lines. Notice, too, the sometimes parallel directions of Shank's and Bob Cooper's solos, the latter includes a snatch of Flying Home.
That's it. The eyes have had it; the rest if up to the ears, your ears. If we haven't made our excitement over these sides abundantly clear, one hearing will convince you. For what you will hear will be the best in musicianship, encouraged and enhanced by the best in recording. These things combined to produce what we have been searching for – a recording sound which gives the impression of a live jazz concert, without disturbing applause and with controlled sound. It may be Maynard's party but you get all the presence.
Night Letter
Somebody Loves Me
