FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                          September 17, 2003

LEGENDARY MAYNARD FERGUSON TO OPEN CONCERT SERIES

            Maynard Ferguson is now in his fourth decade delighting jazz fans around the world and he will be in Alva on Sunday, Sept. 28, to do the same there.

            One of the world’s greatest trumpet and brass instrument players, Ferguson is the opening act of the 2003-2004 Northwest Concert Series. His concert is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Herod Hall Auditorium on the campus of Northwestern Oklahoma State University.

            Tickets for the event are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Season tickets are available for all four Concert Series performances at $30 for adults and $15 for students. Individual and season tickets are available at Holder Drug, Schuhmacher’s, Alva Chamber of Commerce and the Northwestern Bookstore. Sponsorship packages ranging from $100 to $1,000 also are available by calling coordinator Dr. James Shrader at (580) 327-8591.

            Upcoming concerts are by all-female Irish-American group Cherish the Ladies, Nov. 6; instrumental ensemble Dallas Brass, Feb. 2, 2004; and a cappella group mlpact, March 30, 2004.

            Ferguson now has redefined big band jazz with his Big Bop Nouveau Band. While many other bands recreate music of bygone eras, Ferguson and company draw upon many disciplines to create a fresh sound within the classic big band form.

            An instrument designer, record producer, composer, educator/clinician, symphonic guest

artist and film soundtrack artist, Ferguson is a three-time Grammy nominee and consistent Down Beat and Playboy Jazz Poll winner.

            Born in Montreal on May 4, 1928, Ferguson was a child prodigy. He was playing piano and violin by the age of four and by his teen years was leading a warm-up band for orchestras like those of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman and the Dorsey brothers when they passed through Montreal.

            In 1949, Ferguson dissolved his Canadian band and moved to the United States, and soon joined the band of Stan Kenton and his virtuosic technique and upper-register catapulted him to stardom.

            After Leaving Kenton’s orchestra, Ferguson worked as a first-call studio musician, recording numerous film soundtracks, including “The Ten Commandments.” In 1956, he put together an all-star big band for a very successful engagement at Birdland, the “Birdland Dream Band,” and recorded two albums with the group. He then formed a more permanent orchestra and for the next 10 years kept busy with a rigorous touring and recording schedule.

            In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Ferguson lived overseas, spending time in Spain, England and India, leading a band comprised of British musicians. His recorded version of “MacArthur Park” became a hit and his touring schedule became so busy in America that he decided to move back in 1974.

            In 1978, his Columbia Records recording of “Gonna Fly Now,” the theme from “Rocky,” rocketed him to pop fame with a top 10 single, a gold album and a Grammy nomination. More commercial-sounding recordings followed, featuring movie themes with studio bands.

            After leaving Columbia, Ferguson started recording his own band on smaller labels,

enabling him to use the talented young musicians he had solicited to tour with him.

            In the 1980s, Ferguson fronted the fusion-funk band High Voltage, which recorded two albums. He then came full circle in the late ‘80s with the formation of his little big band--Big Bop Nouveau.

            He started producing his own albums with Footpath Cafe and continues to do so. Ferguson signed with Concord Records in 1995 to record and produce. His Concord debut, “These Cats Can Swing,” features Ferguson with Big Bop Nouveau, a band full of future jazz stars.

            “I encourage the young guys in my band in their careers. I always say that I’m only mad with people that leave my band if they are not successful afterwards,” Ferguson said.

            Judging from the success of his alumni--including Don Ellis, Chuck Mangione, Bill Chase, Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Bob James, Joe Zawinul, Slide Hampton, Greg Bissonnette, Willie Maiden and Peter Erskine--Ferguson must not get mad too often.

            Most of Ferguson’s year is spent touring with his Big Bop Nouveau Band, but he shows no signs of slowing down. He tours eight months a year with performances at festivals, concert halls, jazz clubs and universities around the globe.

The Northwest Oklahoma Concert Series is made possible through grants from the Oklahoma Arts Council, Heartland Arts Fund, National Endowment for the Arts and the Charles Morton Share Trust.

-NW-

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