🎷 AotW: Jazz Maynard Ferguson - CHAMELEON

Jazz releases not on the CTi or Horizon labels.

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Captain Bacardi

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Maynard Ferguson
CHAMELEON
Columbia Records
220px-ChameleonFerguson.jpg

Released 1974

Peaked at #13 on the Jazz Album charts (1974)

Produced by Teo Macero

Songs:

1. Chameleon (P. Jackson/H. Mason/B. Maupin/H. Hancock) - 4:35
2. Gospel John (J. Steinberg) - 6:02
3. The Way We Were (M. Hamlisch/A. Bergman/M. Bergman) - 3:25
4. Jet (P. McCartney/L. McCartney) - 3:55
5. La Fiesta (C. Corea) - 8:04
6. I Can't Get Started (I. Gershwin/V. Duke) - 3:42
7. Livin' For The City (S. Wonder) - 4:56
8. Superbone Meets The Badman (J. Chattaway) - 5:09
Musicians:
Maynard Ferguson - Trumpet, Baritone Horn, Superbone, Vocal (6)
Trumpets, Flugelhorns & Latin American Instruments: Stan Mark, Dennis Noday, Lynn Nicholson, Bob Summers
Trombones: Randy Purcell, Jerry Johnson
Andy MacIntosh - Alto & Soprano Sax, Flute, Cowbell
Brian Smith - Flute, Tenor Sax, Tambourine
Bruce Johnstone - Baritone Sax, Flute, Vibraslap
Rick Petrone - Bass
Alan Zavod - Piano, Electric Piano
Dan D'Imperio - Drums

Cover Design: Karenlee Grant
Photography: Frank Lafitte
Art Direction: Howard Fritzson

Available at Amazon.com (with song samples): http://www.amazon.com/Chameleon-May...d=1412545493&sr=1-5&keywords=maynard+ferguson



Capt. Bacardi
 
For me, this is another mid 70s Maynard album where maybe a few of the tracks do it for me, and the rest...well...

I think part of the interest in these albums is that a lot of us had played a few of Maynard's charts from the 70s, so we'd turn to the albums as "the source". Our jazz band teachers never let the trumpet players use "screech" mouthpieces though. Especially the Maynard mouthpieces--a couple of our trumpet players who had tried them said the tone was very hard to control.
 
I was a junior in high school when this came out. We band geeks played it all the time, along with his MF Horn series. I had just heard Herbie Hancock's version of "Chameleon" not long before Maynard's LP came out and was quite surprised how MF did the song. It still rocks I think. I also think some of the other tracks didn't age quite as well, particularly "The Way We Were", "Livin' For The City" and "Jet". For me the highlight of the album is "La Fiesta", which grooves from start to finish. Gotta love the 'bone solo by Jerry Johnson and the high flying trumpets. "Superbone Meets The Badman" is another keeper, the only real swinger of the set. We used to get a kick out of MF singing "I Can't Get Started", especially the line of "Linda Lovelace finds me obscene" (Deep Throat had been out for a year or so at this point and there was a ton of talk about that movie). This album really signaled the commercial direction that MF would take for future LPs.



Capt. Bacardi
 
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