Ferguson's 1940s style lures local jazz fans

Ferguson's 1940s style lures local jazz fans

By Franki Raden

JAKARTA (JP): If you live in New York and subscribe to the
Village Voice music tabloid, you'll soon be familiar with the
name Maynard Ferguson, a musician who frequently appears in jazz
clubs in downtown Manhattan.

Canadian-born Ferguson, through his trumpet prowess, has
developed Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong's musical technic into a
perfect standard. Armstrong's influence on Ferguson's style was
evident when he and his band performed for local jazz lovers at
Topaz, Wisma Bakrie, Jl. Rasuna Said, South Jakarta, last
weekend.

The trumpet is one of the legendary music instruments of the
jazz tradition. Years ago, New Orleans Charles (Buddy) Bolden
used the trumpet to develop a new music genre known as jazz. The
trumpet has since been closely associated with jazz, particularly
under the influence of jazz maestro Louis Armstrong, who
introduced an extreme style of jazz improvisation, which later
influenced a new generation of trumpeters, including Ferguson.

In his Jakarta performance, Ferguson performed with his 10-
strong big band, including keyboard player Ron Oswanski, drummer
Jason Harnell, bass Chris Berger, trombonist Tom Garling, soprano
and tenor saxophonist Chip McNeill, tenor and alto saxophonist
Matt Wallace and four trumpeters -- John Owens, Joey Tartell,
Carl Fisher and Ferguson himself.

Ferguson and the band began with Get it to Go in bob style
with a complex rhythm and harmony. Playing this composition, the
big band highlighted its solid brass section and potential
soloists.

Soprano and tenor saxophonist, McNeill, demonstrated his
improvisation talents during this number, particularly in the
exploration of additional melodies, reminiscent of John
Coltrane's works.

Improvisation

With his soaring horn, Ferguson exhibited his maturity and
musical wit in improvising with almost a flawless legato technic.

Trombonist Tom Garling, Matt Wallace with his tenor and alto
saxophone, and bassist Chris Berger added their know-how to the
improvisation extravaganza during A Night in Tunisia.

Unfortunately this Latin-style piece was not so enchanting.
Its basic harmony consists only of two chords, making the work
rather monotonous.

Ferguson long arrangement of the piece seemed dull as the band
players performed numerous solo improvisations -- a style which
has become Ferguson's music trademark.

Fortunately, keyboard player Ron Oswanski saved the stuffy
piece with wide chord changes.

In the next number, Caravan, Ferguson gave a more intriguing
performance. In contrast to A Night in Tunisia, Ferguson's work
on Caravan was very alluring.

Not only did he succeed in designing this piece to spotlight
keyboardist Ron Oswanski and drummer Jason Hornell, Ferguson also
enriched it by inserting fragments of other works. One of the
most striking fragments was a military fanfare composed in a
polyphonic texture.

Ferguson used the piece to display his beautiful improvisation
abilities with expressive melodies.

The show continued with a long blues item featuring
Matt Wallace as vocalist and tenor saxophonist, keyboardist Ron
Oswanski, Chip McNeill and Ferguson on the trumpet.

Vocal

Ferguson, like many of his predecessors, tried to show his
skills as a vocalist in I Can't Get Started. Unfortunately, his
effort failed to match that of Louis Armstrong.

After finishing the blues piece, Ferguson and his band played
a medley of pop songs called MF Hit Medley. Actually, Ferguson's
orchestration in the medley was quite interesting, but the pop
music tunes did not fit the improvisation required in jazz music.

In spite of musical touches by drummer Jason Hornell and
bassists Chris Berger, the medley could hardly be transformed
into a jazz work.

Ferguson's creativity showed during the band's version of the
Beatles' Hey Jude at the end of the medley. He asked all the
trumpeters to go out into the audience and play their horns up
close. This bridged the gap between the musicians and the
audience, creating a climatic moment for the show.

The audience, sparked by the stereophonic effect produced by
the trumpeters, begged for more.

Despite some unexpected weaknesses, Ferguson and his band's
two-day performance here was quite successful. Although they have
not made as significant a contribution to the world of jazz as
has Dizzy Gillespie or Miles Davis, they are still noteworthy.

The performances were entertaining for local jazz fans who
were eager to hear Ferguson's 1940s musical style and to see the
highly skilled big band.