By the early '80s, trumpeter Maynard Ferguson's disco-heavy "jazz" albums, so commercially viable through the previous decade, had already begun losing their hip cachet. Disco itself was on the wane and Ferguson, with his jumpsuits, smoky sunglasses, and obscenely high trumpet playing, was quickly becoming a parody of himself. Thusly, jazz fans in 1982 were generously bequeathed Hollywood, easily one of the ex-Kenton-ite's worst career efforts. Produced by bassist extraordinaire Stanley Clarke (who also supplied the title track), the result is an airbrushed and extroverted pop pastiche of dancefloor-ready songs that have absolutely nothing to do with jazz. Basically, by this point the MF Band was churning out well-produced, if predictable, instrumental versions of pop tunes with little if any improvisation…

In May 1967, when Maynard Ferguson was invited to appear at the Expo 67 Canadian Pavilion in Montreal, his Roulette period was behind him but his style and musical tastes had not really changed. Although he did not appear on record at all in 1966 (other than the soundtrack of a television show) and would not have a regular orchestra until 1970, the music on this CD sounds very much as if it were being played by an edition of the Maynard Ferguson Big Band. The obscure sidemen (all local players gathered together for the occasion) boast high musicianship and a few excellent (but unfortunately unidentified) soloists. MF is the main star throughout, showing off his remarkable technique and coming up with consistently exciting and generally creative solos in addition to enthusiastically leading the shouting ensembles.

Maynard Ferguson, passed on 14 years ago, regarded as a one off, there will never be another musician like him with his power and incredible high note technique on the trumpet. This is his Greatest Hits from his time with Columbia, Big Band Pop/Jazz/Disco like never hear before, some are rare mixes never available on CD before. In 1977, resulted in a top-40 (#22) pop single, "Gonna Fly Now" (from the movie Rocky), a rare accomplishment for a jazz musician in the 1970s. Film and television themes figured prominently in the surging popularity of MF. On this CD the "Theme from Star Trek," and "Main Title from Star Wars," Bernstein's "Maria" from West Side Story, "Scheherazade" from the classical music realm, " Dorothy's "Over The Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz. For the first time anywhere, on any format, we bring you the previously unreleased, "Shanti Mantra." Now, we leave you to the music and to your Memories Of Maynard.

Maynard Ferguson Octet is an album by Canadian jazz trumpeter/trombonist Maynard Ferguson featuring tracks recorded at Capitol Studios, Los Angeles, CA. (tracks 1-5) April 25th 1955, (tracks 6-8) April 27th 1955 and originally released on the EmArcy label 1955. This early triumph from the solo career of the brilliant trumpeter remains bewilderingly rare - it's an avowed West Coast-jazz classic but it's been out of print for years. Verve Originals re-issued this 2008.