Maynard Ferguson
Batesville, IN
1986.03.04


Aud > master cassette > 1st gen cassette > Adobe Audition
> .wav > TLH level 8 SB's aligned


Disc 1:

01 Expresson (partial)
02 Central Park
03 The Last Dive
04 Todd Carlon piano solo
05 Beautiful Hearts
06 Bebop Buffet

Disc 2:

01 Mira Mira (featuring Wayne Bergeron)
02 As Time Goes By
03 Hit Medley: McPark, Chameleon, Hey Jude, Rocky
04 Birdland

Disc 3 Bonuses (Tracks 1-6: Lake Washington HS, Kirkland WA 1986.04.09)

Aud > ? CD-R > Adobe Audition > .wav > TLH level 8 SB's aligned

01 Blue Birdland
02 Expresso
03 Central Park
04 The Last Dive (partial)
05 Mira Mira
06 Hit Medley: McPark, Chameleon, Hey Jude, Rocky
07 The Long Haul (1986, unknown venue)
08 Balboa (1985, unknown venue)
09 Oh Que Sera (1985, unknown venue)

Personnel:
Trumpets: Maynard Ferguson, Wayne Bergeron, Alan Wise
Bone: Alex Iles
Saxes: Tim Ries, Rick Margitza
(David Manning[sp?] replaces Ries on 1-6 of Disc 3)
Piano: Todd Carlon
Drums: Dave Miller
Bass: Dave Carpenter
Percussion: Steve Fisher
Guitar: Michael Higgins

Personnel of last 3 tracks on Disc 3 is unknown.

Discs 1 & 2 have a Good/Bad/Ugly aspect to them.

The Good: This was a strong performance by MF, during a
hit-and-miss period for him.

The Bad: The taper was goofing around, somehow using a pair of
headphones as the microphone, and wasn't really expecting
the recording to turn out. It did.

The Ugly: The taper was a high school senior, trying to impress
his date by narrating the concert and predicting what was going to
happen next and talking over the tunes. He even sings along at times.
You have been warned.*

I wouldn't be torrenting this if it wasn't such a strong night for MF, during
a period what was not well-documented. The tracks on Disc 3 came to
me in a hodge podge, spread across 3 CD-Rs of concert fragments. I've been
wondering what to do with them, and then I noticed that they complement
the Batesville show nicely, as the missing or incomplete tracks from one are
present on the other. Plus they are of the same (rough) audio quality.

You'll notice on Disc 3, track 1 that MF is really having a tough time
of it, and doesn't even bother to go for the high 'A' at the end of the
tune. But he does get it together for later tunes and sounds strong.

By the way, Bergeron related the following story to me face-to-face after a
concert a few years ago. I'll paraphrase from memory as best I can.

"Maynard let me solo on Mira Mira on my birthday, and Alan Wise got mad about
being left out, so MF let him join in on later dates. The first thing Alan did
was to start playing high, because that's basically all he knows how to do. So
the solo section didn't have a chance to develop and MF had nowhere to go when it
was his turn to play. After the show, MF was *pissed*. He never gets mad, but
he was furious and called us both into his dressing room. He shouted, 'I don't
know if it's because I can't play that way anymore, or if it's just because I
don't want to, but GODDAMN IT, LET ME SET THE PACING ON THE SOLO SECTION!!

The next night, when we all walked up to the solo mic, MF said 'Go for it guys!'
and proceeded to stomp us both into the dirt. I mean, it was merciless. He
kicked both our asses and didn't let up."





* I contacted the taper by email recently, and told him I was prepping a torrent
of the show and asked him if he wanted to send a disclaimer message to you, the
listener. This is his response:

-----------------

You're killin' me. I knew handing over those tapes to you was a bad idea.
I figured I'd live to regret it. I don't think I really expected my recording
setup to work. I was using a pair of headphones plugged into the microphone jack.
I guess I didn't think it mattered as nobody would ever know I was making an ass of
myself. I don't think I even knew what an ass I was being.

Just the same, I'd like to remain unnamed. Thanks.

As far as a message goes, how's this: "Please forgive the misguided enthusiasm,
youthful exuberance and less than insightful commentary of the person whose voice
is heard all too frequently on this recording. The individual in question is
painfully aware that his behavior has diminished what would have otherwise been
a more enjoyable unauthorized recording and continues to regret his actions."
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