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January 10, 2010

Alan heads to Robinson, Ill., Jan. 19, 2010, for three days of clinics and a concert at Lincoln Trail College (LTC). Along with the LTC students, approximately 40 high schools and 10 universities will be sending students to Alan’s clinics at the school.

On Tuesday he will rehearse with LTC’s Jazz Band, directed by Ken Strieby, and on Wednesday conduct a master class with LTC’s Statesmen Singers jazz choir. On Thursday afternoon he will present a 90-minute instrumental jazz clinic for students from Illinois and surrounding states.

His visit culminates with a Thursday concert at 7 p.m., open to the public, featuring Wise and the LTC Jazz Band in the Zwermann Arts Center Theater. Admission is $5 with the clinic participants admitted free

Sept. 1, 2009

Some players are constantly searching for the "perfect" horn and mouthpiece. I have always made it a point to be aware of what is currently available but have had no desire to change my current setup, until now.

For the last twenty-five years I have been playing the original prototype of the Schilke S42 trumpet. It has had the Laskey-Pinc conversion and other "tweaks." These things have included weighted bottom and "dead" to caps for the valves and opening of the lead pipe.

In April my dear friend Gordon Curtis, of Gemstone Musical Instruments, asked me to test play some new trumpets manufactured by P. Weingrill. I tested the horns for several hours and was very impressed. One model in particular, TR1-R43S, was simply outstanding! In addition the FL-1 flugelhorn was superb. The instruments were compared to the Schilke S42 prototype, ST-302 MF Horn, ST-304 MF Horn, Prototype "AW" Holton, and my four digit Benge 3X. The flugelhorn was compared to a Yamaha 631 Silverplate and a vintage "Star" Couesnon.

Later that day Gordon and I attended Wayne Bergeron's clinic and performance at the University of Northern Colorado Jazz Festival. Wayne and I had not seen each other in over 20 years and it was great to hang with him again. His performance was simply fantastic!

The Weingrill trumpet and flugelhorn had made a definite impression on me. I am proud to announce that I am endorsing these instruments. It is great to be associated with this great company. It is also wonderful to be able to recommend instruments that are exactly what the "guy on the street" can purchase.

I heartily recommend that you give these instruments a try. Everything is first class and you will be glad you did. New horns!

May 18, 2009

Much has been written, and speculated, about Stan Mark and his tenure on the Maynard Ferguson Band. I played trumpet with him for almost three years on the band and would like to share with you my experiences and perspective on this unique individual.

Stan is from Lebanon, Penn., a veteran of the U.S. Navy. He was a co-founder of the U.S. Navy "Commodores" Jazz Band and post-horn soloist with the U.S. Navy Concert Band in Washington, D.C. A true patriot, and American, he is fiercely proud of his country.

I first met Stan in 1975 at an MF gig. We would chat throughout the next few years until I was hired for the band in 1980. As Maynard told me on the plane, "You will meet the real Stan Mark." I did. Thus began a friendship that remains to this day.

Stan had some hard and fast rules for playing in the section. Chief among these were cutoff's and sfz's (sforzando's), which were both crucial in performance. He also wanted great part players, who were on the band for the right reason - To play for Maynard. This was first and foremost to him. His belief was that the band was a sort of a "fraternity" that one earned their admission into. He despised "college players," and band members who sought to use the band as a steppingstone as their purpose for being on the band. He felt playing on the band was the career goal.

Stan's performance on the bandstand was consistent and always full of fire. The out-chorus of "Blue Birdland" set the stage for Maynard to just dazzle. He also had intensity that has rarely, if ever, been heard. Contrary to other things written, he consistently nailed G's and A's just louder than hell. He was totally aware of his role in the make-up of the band and did his utmost to meet the demands. Also, rarely known, is the fact that he had to deal with issues concerning members of the band that he was directed to do.

At times the microphones on the gig would not really be "hot" and when he discovered this he would simply direct the trumpet section to point the mic's toward the floor and we would "play loud." Those were true acoustic performances and at the end of the gig we would be spent.

When Stan left the band it marked the passing of a very special time in the history of the Maynard Ferguson Band. Stan's playing provided a special type of "soul" to the band that was never present after his departure.

Today, May 18th, is a special day in Stan's life. We all experience it once a year. My best wishes to him and I hope he nails his drives long and straight! So as to close my narrative about my dear friend and fellow road warrior....HAPPY BIRTHDAY SLOTH!!
 

March 21, 2008

Lately, a great many questions have been asked about my trumpet equipment and thoughts about various aspects of the products available.

My "stage horn" is a Schilke that was made in the early 80s as the prototype for the S-42 model. It has been further modified with the conversion performed by Laskey-Pinc. The instrument is a medium bore and is not a reverse leadpipe (as per conversion). Prior to this I played a B-6 model that had been modified. The quality of the build on the Schilke instruments is legendary and deservedly so. My instrument is more than 25 years old and is as new.

On Maynard's band I played Holton ST-302's in both silver and lacquer for the majority of the time. These instruments varied greatly in their playing qualities which was due largely to manufacturing quality control issues. During the mid-70s I had the pleasure of playing several ST-302's which were absolutely top-notch. However, I was never able to find one. I also played, and owned, a ST-304 which was one of the very first manufactured and it played wonderfully. The ST-550 was my project with the help of a wonderful gentleman named Pete LaPlaca. This instrument was a great success for Holton.

When I was growing-up my horn was a silver Benge. This was a four digit serial number and just a great horn. I played it throughout high school and college. I always liked the way the Benge's played. During this time almost everyone played Bach. However, I never cared for the way Bach's played. To me the Bach seemed to be more "cornet like," which is not the feel I was looking for. I started on a Conn Director and it was a war horse. The reason I got onto Benge was due to the fact that Herb Alpert played one.

I have two flugelhorns. One is a 631 Yamaha silver plate. According to one of the Websites this horn never existed in silver (if so it was a 731). However, mine is a 631 and is silver. All of the recordings I did with Maynard were with this horn.

The other instrument is a Couesnon "Star" model in lacquer that a trumpet collector gentleman gave me. This is a fantastic playing instrument and is really enjoyable to play in solo situations, as it is a bit easier to move around on. I did have a four-valve Courtois on Maynard's band. He saw it and desired to have it. He got it.

My mouthpieces are by Dave Monette. The model is BL6. This mouthpiece is everything I have sought in a mouthpiece and I am delighted with it. The thought in mouthpieces should be what works for you. It is not important who plays it, its size, etc.. One of the most ignorant things that can be said is, "That is a cheater mouthpiece." I have yet to see a mouthpiece that does not require a player to play it! Play what works for you.

In recent years the manufacturing scene has changed quite a bit. There are some really fine instruments being produced. China has also become a factor in producing instruments. Several custom makers have also emerged with premier instruments.

I look forward to the delivery of my custom Monette trumpet. New equipment is always a delight. Just remember that whatever you choose to play on - pick it for the right reason: It works for you!

Please e-mail me with any specific questions you might have. I will do my best to answer them. - contact Alan

Remembering Maynard

Editor's note: This is an on-going column updated with different recollections of Maynard Ferguson and the band. Tom Snyder, host of NBC's Tomorrow Show from 1973 to 1982, died July 29.

July 30, 2007

Tom Snyder and the Tomorrow Show

One of the name TV programs we appeared on while I was with Maynard Ferguson was the Tom Snyder "Tomorrow Show." Many of you will recall that the show aired immediately after the "Tonight Show" on NBC.

We had played a concert in New England the night before the taping and arrived at the Hotel Edison in New York City early, at 4 a.m.!, the next morning. After a few hours at the hotel we headed for NBC studios at Rockefeller Center for preparation for the taping of the show.

The "Tomorrow Show" had a rehearsal time in order to get camera set-ups, sound, and still photos for use on the broadcast. Everything was extremely professional and the treatment was first class. After the rehearsal we had several hours to kill before the taping in the afternoon.

On the show we performed two selections and Tom interviewed Maynard. Dave Mancini,"The Blade," a wonderful drummer, was ill and very washed out. The NBC people applied some makeup to restore him to his resplendent glory! After the taping we all went back to the hotel for a very needed night off and watched the telecast.

One tidbit about the taping: One of the guests on the show was a "tell all" book author. Tom Snyder kept asking her questions and she would not answer them. During one of the commercial breaks he said, "Hey, why don't we scrap this segment and have Maynard and the guys do another tune?" Yeah Tom!

Months later the show ran again and we all got another check from NBC. No wonder everyone smiles when they are on TV!

Remembering Maynard

January 21, 2007

It's My Time

I thought with the remembrances of Maynard I would give you some of the recollections of the recording sessions during my time on the band.

The first album that I did with Maynard was "It's My Time". The album was recorded at Media Sound in New York City in June of 1980. This album was stacked. What that means is the parts are recorded at different times. In this case it meant that the rhythm section came in one week before the horns and put down tracks.

When the horns came in the next Monday we all recorded "Everybody Loves The Blues". After that we stacked the rest of the album.

Columbia had an arranger named "Tom Tom 84" do arrangements of "It's My Time" and "Star". We sightread the charts at the recording session. "Tom Tom" was an interesting guy to have in the studio. He wore this hat with the headphones on the outside.

Nick Lane did the majority of the arrangements for the album. In addition to the ones that went on the album we recorded a Tower of Power style thing called "River Whale". It was a great chart and hopefully will be released someday.

One day we were given the afternoon off. That was when "An Offering of Love" was recorded. It turned out to be my dad's favorite tune off the album. I found it ironic since it was the only tune that I wasn't on!

I have been asked many times what the words were to "It's My Time". They are "Get out of the way, gotta get to the funk, It's My Time". I know this because we sang it in concert. Rusty Barker had a special way he used to sing it. Hilarious!

After the last day of recording we were picked up in limousines and taken to Yankee Stadium to perform "The Star Spangled Banner" with Maynard. We played it by the pitchers mound and exited us through the dugout.

Reggie Jackson made it a point to shake hands with all of us. Meeting "Mr. October" was very cool!

One last bit of trivia is the tune "The Spirit of St. Frederick" which was read down at my first rehearsal with the band. The tune was named for Fred Barkman who was the bus driver and just a wonderful soul.

I hope you have enjoyed this. Please e-mail me with any specific questions you might have. I will do my best to answer them. - contact Alan

Remembering Maynard

September 21, 2006

FIrst Flight

Welcome to my Web site. I want to dedicate the Web site's debut with some of my remembrances of my boss of seven years, Maynard Ferguson, who passed away in August 2006.

I first went on the band in 1980. The tour was to start in Sioux City, Iowa. I was flying out of Denver and the MF Office called and said that Maynard would be on the plane with me. Talk about excited.

My parents took me to the airport and I checked in and went to the departure gate. While I was waiting, I saw this familiar figure walking toward me. Maynard came up and introduced himself to my parents and then asked me where I was seated on the plane. He grabbed my ticket and we proceeded to the counter. The gate agent looked up and Maynard said, "I have an underage minor and he needs to sit with me on this flight."

After getting the ticket thing straightened out, we walked back to my parents and Maynard said, "Take a good look at him; he will never look the same again."

We boarded the flight and it was turbulent. Maynard started chanting. We did manage to land safely. As the next seven years passed we were on many flights together throughout the world. However, I will always fondly remember the first one.

Performing with the University of Wisconsin

September 21, 2006

I had the honor to perform with the University of Wisconsin Marching Band at their performance on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2006, in Madison.

The band remembered Maynard with a performance of "Gonna Fly Now." More than 60 High School bands were in attendance for "Band Day" as part of the audience of 80,000 people.

The weekend was a complete joy as Director Mike Leckrone, the staff, and the students were delightful hosts. I would also like to thank Brian Hettiger for his gracious professionalism and effort in my behalf.

This is a pure Marching Band and the spirit level is fantastic! Hopefully we will perform together again in the future! - see photos