Maynard Ferguson

Maynard Ferguson was one of those musicians who made you question what's physically possible — the man played in a register that most trumpeters wouldn't even attempt, and he made it sound effortless. Coming out of Montreal and cutting his teeth in Stan Kenton's orchestra in the late 1940s, he built a reputation as maybe the most dazzling high-note screamer in jazz history. But what I love about him is that he wasn't just a circus act — he had genuine musicality and a knack for spotting talent, because his big bands became legendary launching pads for younger players. His 1970s disco-inflected recordings divided purists, but honestly that Rocky theme arrangement introduced him to a whole new generation, and I respect the hustle. He kept blowing that horn almost until the end, dying in 2006 at 78, and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame induction in 1997 felt like the country finally saying what jazz fans had known for decades.

Name (English)

Maynard Ferguson

Name (Japanese)

メイナード・ファーガソン

Reading

めいなーど・ふぁーがそん

Born

May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Taurus / Dragon

Origin

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Occupation

trumpeter / jazz musician / recording artist / musician / bandleader

High school

High School of Montreal

Awards & achievements

• 2006 Charles E. Lutton Man of Music Award
• 1997 Canadian Music Hall of Fame
• Member of the Order of Canada

Motto

Private

• Official sitehttps://www.maynardferguson.com/
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%A1%E3%82%A4%E3%83%8A%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89%E3%83%BB%E3%83%95%E3%82%A1%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AC%E3%82%BD%E3%83%B3

Tags

• Quebec
• trumpeter
• jazz musician
• recording artist

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.