Track Listing

1. M.F. Carnival
2. Fantasy
3. Theme from Battlestar Galactica
4. Stella by Starlight
5. Birdland
6. Baker Street
7. How Ya Doin' Baby?
8. Over the Rainbow

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #63223 in Music
• Released on: 2003-04-22
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Album Description
Maynard Ferguson has been considered one of the premier jazz trumpet virtuosos for over 4 decades! He has a cult following of trumpet players all over the world. He has released numerous albums over those years, his most popular being on the Columbia label in the 70's and 80's. Carnival was originally issued in 1978 and reached # 113 on the Billboard charts. This album features his interpretation of the jazz classic 'Birdland' as well as 7 other tracks. This album is making its worldwide CD debut on Wounded Bird Records. 2003.

Customer Reviews

Not great, but it's still Maynard Ferguson...
For those who consider themselves Maynard Ferguson fans, one of the most inexplicable problems in terms of collecting his work on CD has been the dearth of releases from Maynard's years on Columbia Records. These years were certainly not always his greatest in terms of the quality of the LPs - "Hollywood" and "It's My Time" leap immediately to mind - but, even on those mediocre, commercially-oriented releases, there was some incredible playing by both the band and its leader. So it's rather surprising that Wounded Bird Records chose "Carnival", Ferguson's 1978 album, to issue on CD when there are several Columbia titles that rank among his best ("MF Horn II", "Live at Jimmy's") yet to be put onto CD.

That having been said, it's still wonderful to have "Carnival" on CD. Despite the attempt at another Top 40 hit that would permeate several post-"Rocky" MF albums - on this one, it's the tepid "Theme from 'Battlestar Gallactica'" - there are some lovely moments on this album, particularly on Biff Hannon's creative arrangement of "Over the Rainbow" (with one of Bobby Militello's always-imaginative flute solos) and on the title cut, which features some fine ensemble playing by the woodwinds. Jazz purists usually cringe when MF is mentioned, but "Stella By Starlight" gets a very straight, traditional big band reading that works well, and highlights Maynard's outstanding band from those years. There are more jazz/funk remakes of pop hits than necessary, with EWF's "Fantasy" working and Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street" not, and too much quasi-disco stomping as well. But, through it all, there is the amazing Maynard Ferguson trumpet - which, even on less-than-stellar material, is worth the price of admission. If only for "Rainbow", "Stella", and, of course, "Birdland", this one is worth owning.

Finally, Carnival on CD
I personally was very excited to finally see Carnival on CD. If you played trumpet in band during the 70's, you probably know this music! The purists among Maynard Ferguson fans almost universally discount the work that he did during the mid to late seventies as an ill-fated attempt to reach a more mainstream audience. However, I don't think that Maynard's legendary status as keeper of the big band flame is diminished in any way by this phase of his career. Some may consider the work dated, but I think it was a unique approach to the music of the time and one that, to me, stands out as being even more unique with the passage of time. Carnival is a bright and uplifting collection of pieces and the musicians on this recording turned in the expected fantastic perfomances. The opener, M.F. Carnival, is a standout with a unique acoustic guitar / trumpet trade off intro that leads into a tasty groove. You like horns? You got em! Fans of Earth Wind and Fire won't be disappointed by the cover of Fantasy. It's a great melody and a strong interpretation by M.F. The purist will no doubt revile the take on the Battlestar Galactica theme, but I really like the strong opening and the sterotypical 70's female backup vocals make me smile! I think the take on the standard Birdland still stands out as interesting today, which for as many times as it's been recorded by different artist since the original is statement enough. I didn't care much for the original Baker Street, but found the M.F. cover to be much more interesting. I definitely like the slammin' groove of How Ya Doin' Baby? The other two cuts, Stella by Starlight and Over the Rainbow are not really representative of what I like about M.F., but are done as only M.F. can do them. The purist is more likely to gravitate toward material like Stella. Thanks so much to Sony and Wounded Bird Records for making this trip down memory lane available on CD!

The Ultimate Trumpet Player
While I might agree this album's song selection is less than stellar , that in no way diminishes what might be Maynard's most unbelievalbe playing from start to finish. Anyone who buys this CD cannot possibly remove it from their CD player without humming this version of Birdland. In addition, the title track is one of the most diverse and festive tracks ever recorded by Maynard. I loved this album 25 years ago and I cannot be happier this CD has finally been released. Jazz purists be damned, this cat blows!