Jazz legend shares talents with students Students prepped

for evening concert

By GUY PRIEL

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Students from Martin Luther College, Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School, New Ulm High School and Cathedral High School received a music lesson from a jazz legend in his own right.

Maynard Ferguson, 72, and his nine-member Big Bop Nouveau Band played to a packed house in a concert appearance Thursday in New Ulm as part of a tour that began in Bangok, Thailand.

"While there we played at the summer palace in a special concert for the King of Siam," Ferguson said. "This was our third appearance there. The king is a big fan of the alto sax. He plays sax like I play golf. I'm a lousy golfer. But, the point is that this is a universal type of music."

Before the concert, Ferguson held an afternoon clinic for students who performed the theme song from "Rocky" with him at the end of the concert.

The clinic started with the playing of a Dizzy Gillespie tune, "Night in Tunisia." The piece contains several short solos designed to show the range of talents involved in the band.

"As a trumpet player, I learn a lot from other instrument players," Ferguson said. "Stamina and articulation are the keys to being a good trumpet player. I would encourage you to listen to as many different players as you can. That will help you get better."

Ferguson uses a custom mouth piece. He has a slight overbite, which forces him to adjust his lips while playing.

"People think you need strong lips to play the trumpet," Ferguson said. "The lips merely manipulate the airstream. You need to have a system. The basic word is you have to play the instrument. Don't think about it, just play it, and it will be fun."

The three main points players need to keep in mind at all times throughout the learning process are to learn it, absorb it, and forget about it, he said.

"What you learn becomes a muscle," he said. "There are times when I have to think about what I do. In school, we tend to become victims of the music stand. The feet are important in becoming a good player. The diaphragm becomes the generator."

One part of being a good musician is to be a good athlete. Players have to approach their instruments physically, he said.

The remainder of the presentation focused on the trombone, the saxophone and the rhythm section.

"The rhythm section is the most diverse part of the band," Ferguson said. "They support the ensemble. I have a great trio that helps enhance and inspire what I do. They work well when they understand the soloists."

The rhythm section interprets the charts because there are no actual notes to follow and creates the groove the songs sit on for the ensemble, according to Ferguson's drummer.

One of the songs performed Thursday evening was a new work written by trombone player Reggie Watkins from West Virginia.

Ferguson, a native of Montreal, Quebec, runs a music school in New Jersey. He is the winner of three Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1997. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1997 Juno Awards Ceremony. His current band, his third, was formed in the late 1980s. His recording of "Gonna Fly Now," the theme from the motion picture "Rocky," went gold in the late 1970s.