Maynard Ferguson
Indianapolis, Indiana
Glendale Shopping Mall
1984.02.25

Master Cassette > Adobe Audition > .wav > TLH level 8 SBE's aligned

Disc 1

01 Blue Birdland
02 Birdland
03 South 21st Shuffle
04 Take the A Train
05 Don't Stop Till You Get Enough


Disc 2
01 Bebop Buffet
02 Central Park
03 Ray Brinker Drum Solo/Portugese Love
04 MF Hit Medley
05 Rocky

This has been torrented before, but this is the first time the master cassette has ever been
available. I recently acquired it from the taper, along with several others.

Maynard's son Bentley died in a fall from a hotel balcony on February 20, 1984. Rather than cancel
the tour, MF flew home for the funeral, and then flew back for the next concert date and continued
the tour. Denis Diblasio tells the story:

-----------------------
Boss went home for a day to take care of the funeral services for his son Bentley.
It was an extremely sad time. A parent dealing with the passing of one of their children
is probably the hardest thing in life to deal with. Not many can imagine what that must be like.

It made the national news. Boss heard the news, flew home and a day later came back out to do the
gig and the rest of the 6 week tour.We were told to go ahead and get ready to do the gig because Boss would
be flying in the next day when the gig was supposed to happen. Somebody was going to rush him over from
the airport to the gig just in time for the downbeat. No one knew what to expect. Would he make it? Would
he be ok? We were all praying for him, Flo the family, it was really hard.

The gig was in a gym somewhere ([Manager] Ed Sargent would know) someone shouted that Boss's plane landed
and he was coming so we hit Blue Birdland. He walks through the gym door and the entire sold out house is on
their feet. Since it made the news everyone at the gig knew. He had on sunglasses and he kept them
on throughout the entire show. I forget what the tune was, it seems like it was Tunisia but I'm not
certain because it wasn't about the song but how he played. We were ready for just about anything except
for how he soloed.

See, Boss has a few gears in his playing. A bad night for him was someone elses best night of their life.
He was always great but there were times when he would really be nailing everything. Then there was this
gear where he was extraordinary. I mean the stuff that makes a legend a legend. Then he had another gear
that you just couldnt believe what you where hearing, it would be just insane. Well this solo wasnt any
of those gears. This solo was its own gear. It was a gear that I only heard once and I wonder if he ever
went there ever again. Boss loved to sing in an opera style up high but this was different. Boss was
grieving and purging. It was a hard double-timing heavy tonguing triple note aggression that we never
heard him ever do before. We were mesmerized. He was grieving and doing it through the horn and it was
the kind of playing none of us ever heard before in our lives. It was beyond words and disturbing at the
same time because everyone knew where it was coming from. It was beyond fantastic it was just something
from another place. We were transfixed. We missed backgrounds and most of us just watched him and forgot
where we were in the tune. We were worried because nobody ever heard a trumpet like that. It was so backed
up with emotion, power and just wrenching drive that it messed you up. When he was finished his solo he
turned to us because we weren't focused and he said something like, It's Ok guys, everything is fine, let's
just play and have fun! And we did the best we could but it wasn't that easy. You were just constantly watching
out for Boss to see if he was OK or needed anything. That solo made you realize he was different that night,
as one would expect. You worried for him.

There are times when I think back to that night. Many thoughts come to mind like: The commitment to come
back and do the gig and the tour, the will to try and still keep things positive in the face of tragedy,
the way he played and what it meant, the honesty and exposure of the heart, the effect it had on the guys
in the band and the crowd. It was one of the heaviest nights I ever went through and I'm sure I speak for
many of the guys on the band. You couldnt ignore what it meant or where it was coming from. It ruled you,
grabbed you by the collar and emotionally threw you around the room.

I have never heard a trumpet played like that since the solo that night. And as profound as it was, I really
dont care to ever hear it again.
--------------------------

This recording is NOT from that night (I don't know if one exists), but it is definitely from one or two
nights later. I was in the audience and at the time had no idea what had happened. They played 3 sets
for a free concert in the atrium of the Glendale Mall, and there was a big crowd surrounding the stage.
Also in the audience was future MF pianist Jeff Lashway, who took some photos, but he has yet to make
them public. In this recording, MF is having an outstanding night--listen to his jazz on South 21st
Shuffle and Round Midnight--and he's upbeat and seemingly happy. The atmosphere was electric,
and I remember one of the local news stations filming the end of Central Park. The camera was right in
front of MF, and he let them have it with both barrels for the last note. I wonder if that footage still
exists.

Diblasio said that MF started showing signs of an impending heart attack on that tour and they took him
to a doctor, but MF wasn't exactly cooperative. Somehow he made it through the tour, and was able to take
some time afterwards with his family. But next time you don't feel like playing a gig, think about this story.

Also included are copies of a newspaper ad of the show, and a program and photo from 6 weeks later, same band.

Personnel:

Trumpets: Maynard Ferguson, Hoby Freeman, Alan Wise, James St. Charles
Bones: Steve Wiest, Joe Barati
Saxes: Tim Ries (now with the Rolling Stones), Andy Weinzler, Denis DiBlasio
Drums: Ray Brinker
Piano: Matt Harris
Bass: Bob Wackerman