Editing Maynard Ferguson (section)

==Versatility==
[[File:Maynard Ferguson & Pino Presti.jpg|thumb|Ferguson was guest star in Italy on  TV show with the orchestra conducted by [[Pino Presti]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mftourdates.net/1970s-tour-dates/1977-tour-dates/?fbclid=IwY2xjawHntH1leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHUyppCPtaEtJCV7Z8zSgvUS196Ebq8EnANi5Szz0_AmIj-2rPVVIwZFeeA_aem_Gm2PBod2_kTyKqNiVNtNRw|title=1977 Tour Dates|website=MFTOURSATES.net|access-date=January 13, 2025}}</ref> in July 1977.]]
Although his principal instrument was the trumpet, Ferguson frequently doubled on other brass instruments,<ref name="New Grove" /> most notably the relatively uncommon [[valve trombone]]. Several recording sessions with bandleader [[Russell Garcia (composer)|Russell Garcia]] included a four-trombone ensemble in which Ferguson played only valve trombone. Publicity shots and album covers from the 1950s showed Ferguson with his 'quartet' of trumpet, valve trombone, [[baritone horn]], and [[French horn]]. Recordings of the latter two are rare; the French horn vanished in later years, but the baritone horn appeared on the 1974 album ''[[Chameleon (Maynard Ferguson album)|Chameleon]]''. He switched to the combination valve/slide [[Superbone]] and [[flugelhorn]] on all but his last recorded album.

Ferguson designed the [[Firebird (trumpet)|Firebird]] and the Superbone.<ref name="New Grove" /> Trumpeter Rajesh Mehta bought this trumpet while living in Amsterdam and played the Firebird from 1998 until 2011 when he had American trumpet maker George Schlub create the Orka-M Naga Phoenix trumpet for him. The Superbone was another hybrid instrument, a trombone with additional valves played with the left hand.<ref>An earlier valve-plus-slide combination trombone was Brad Gowans's "Valide" of the mid-1940s. See "Really Doubling in Brass," Popular Science 148:5 (March 1946), 81.</ref> Ferguson incorporated [[Indian musical instruments|Indian instruments]] and influences in his music.

Ferguson was not the first trumpeter to play in the extreme upper register (which had been employed by performers such as [[Cat Anderson]]), but he could play high notes<ref name="New Grove" /> with full, rich tone, power, and musicality. In interviews he said that his command of the upper registers was based mostly on breath control,<ref>{{cite web|url = http://maynard.ferguson.net/changes.html|title = Maynard's Changes|access-date = July 20, 2007|author = Zan Stewart|date=September 1985|work = [[DownBeat]]|quote = There's nothing superstrong about my lip, but there is about my range and stamina. That comes from [...] my breathing.}}</ref> something he discovered in his youth in Montreal. He attributed the longevity of his technique to the spiritual and yoga studies he pursued in India.

Ferguson brought charisma to a musical genre that is often seen as cold and cerebral. His obituary in ''[[The Washington Post]]'' stated:
<blockquote>Ferguson lit up thousands of young horn players, most of them boys, with pride and excitement. In a (high school) world often divided between jocks and band nerds, Ferguson crossed over, because he approached his music almost as an athletic event. On stage, he strained, sweated, heaved and roared. He nailed the upper registers like Shaq nailing a dunk or Lawrence Taylor nailing a running back – and the audience reaction was exactly the same: the guttural shout, the leap to their feet, the fists in the air. We cheered Maynard as a gladiator, a combat soldier, a prize fighter, a circus strongman – choose your masculine archetype.<ref name="Drehle">{{cite news |last1=Von Drehle |first1=David |title=Maynard Ferguson's Horn Screamed With Vulgar Passion |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/25/AR2006082501440.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=29 September 2018 |date=26 August 2006}}</ref>
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