U N T Established 1890 U N T
University Libraries

Finding Aids

Maynard Ferguson, circa 1948-2006Add to your cart.

By Maristella Feustle

Collection Overview

Title: Maynard Ferguson, circa 1948-2006Add to your cart.
ID: 06/ 001
Primary Creator: Ferguson, Maynard
Extent: 149.0 Boxes
Arrangement: Organized into six series: (1) Arrangements used by Ferguson and bands; (2) Oversized arrangements and scores; (3) Published arrangements; (4) Thai and Indian music; (5) Miscellaneous and uncategorized; and (6) Edward Etkins scores.
Date Acquired: 10/00/2008. More info below under Accruals.
Subjects:
Languages: English

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The collection consists of 149 boxes, most of which contain sets of parts used by the various bands led by Maynard Ferguson from around 1950 through his death in 2006. Scores are also present, along with published arrangements, Thai and Indian music, miscellaneous and/or unidentified materials, and scores reconstructed by Ferguson expert Edward Etkins.

Abbreviations: MF = Maynard Ferguson; S = Score; NS = No Score; R = Rhythm section; Mosaic = Released on The Complete Roulette Maynard Ferguson.

Numbers refer, in order, to the number of saxophones, trumpets, and trombones in an arrangement. For example, MF/4/3/2/R denotes an arrangement with a part for Maynard Ferguson, 4 saxophones, 3 trumpets, 2 trombones, and a rhythm section.

Biographical Note

Walter Maynard Ferguson was born on May 4, 1928 in Verdun, an arrondissement of Montreal, Canada. His mother was a violinist with the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, and and he and his brother Percy showed early musical aptitude. Maynard was a featured trumpet soloist with the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) orchestra before he entered high school, and studied trumpet with Bernard Baker at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal. Still in his teens, he took over as bandleader in his brother Percy's band, and in 1948 moved to the United States. In the U.S., he played for the bands led by Charlie Barnet, Boyd Raeburn, and Stan Kenton; he worked as a studio musician for Paramount, appearing on the soundtrack for The Ten Commandments, among many other titles. Ferguson's career as a bandleader flourished after leaving Paramount, notably with the Birdland Dream Band. In the 1960s, Ferguson lived on the Millbrook, New York estate of Timothy Leary, and eventually relocated to the United Kingdom, Barcelona, and India in association with the Rishi Valley School in Andhra Pradesh. He returned to New York in 1973, and moved to Ojai, Califormia in 1975, achieving major commercial success with "Gonna Fly Now," and continuing with a series of touring bands, including Big Bop Nouveau band. A multi-instrumentalist in addition to his virtuosity on trumpet, he also played valve trombone and baritone horn among others, including the specialized Firebird and Superbone instruments. Ferguson died on August 23, 2006, in Ventura, California.

Subject/Index Terms

Access Information

Access Restrictions:

Access to this collection is provided only by special arrangement. Please contact the Music Library for more information.

Use Restrictions:

Reproduction and publication of materials in this collection are subject to the policies of the UNT Music Library. Copyright restrictions may apply.

Physical Access Note:

Collection is housed in the UNT Music Library. Advance notice for use is required. Please contact the Music Library for further information.

Reading Room or Duplication Requests

Depending on any access restrictions noted above, you may be able to request items be delivered to our reading room, or that we make reproductions for you. Just click on either the or icons in the listings below to be routed to our request form.

Administrative Information

Repository: Music Library
Accruals:

July, 2014: Series 7.

June, 2015: Series 8.

Acquisition Source: Acquisition made possible by the Collins-Binkley Foundation, Inc.

Loading...

Some finding aids are quite large and may take a minute or more to load. This message will dissapear when the page has fully loaded.

Search this Finding Aid

Box and Folder Listing
Series 01: Arrangements used by Ferguson and bandsSeries 02: Oversized arrangements and scoresSeries 03: Published arrangementsSeries 04: Thai and Indian musicSeries 05: Miscellaneous and uncategorizedSeries 06: Edward Etkins scores and transcriptionsSeries 07: July 2014 accrualSeries 08: June 2015 accrualAll

The listing below is a partial representation of this finding aid's total contents. To see other series/containers, select an option in Browse by Series, above.