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Archive: 1-30
Survey Results Archive: Questions 1-30
For many months the Maynard Ferguson Tribute Page featured a weekly survey question. Here are the results:Week 30: What Maynard song do you believe to be the most obnoxious?
In first place, with 18%: Mister Mellow
In second place, with 10%: The Fly
In third place, with 8%: Battlestar Galactica
In fourth place, a tie with 5% each:
- Rocky II Disco
- Ganesha
- Hey Jude
- Nine To Five
- Topa Topa Woman
- Star Trek Theme
- Conquistador
Mentioned once each:
- How Ya Doin Baby
- Star Trek (The Motion Picture theme)
- Summertime
- Walkin on the Pier
- Doin the Madison
- The Swamp
- I Can't Get Started
- L-Dopa
- Give It One
- Break the Ice
- Rocky
- The Rise and Fall of Seven
Week 29: Which Stan Kenton album (with Maynard, of course) is your favorite?
I didn't receive a very large response to this question... Perhaps my audience isn't too familiar with MF's Kenton era!
In first place, with 50%: New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm
Mentioned once each:
- City of Glass
- Kenton in Hi-Fi
- The Artistry of Stan Kenton "Collector's Choice"
- Summer of 51
- Stan Kenton Presents
- Kenton 51 Concert at Cornell
Week 28: What song contains Maynard's longest note?
First place, with 15%: Gospel John
Second place, a tie with 12% each:
- La Fiesta
- Hollywood
Fourth place, a tie with 8% each:
- Macarthur Park
- Scheherazade
- Hey Jude
- Theme from Shaft
Mentioned once each:
- Gabriel
- Gonna Fly Now
- Hit and Run
- Maria
- I Can't Get Started
- On the Sunny Side of the Street
- Lush Life
- Danny Boy
Week 27: What song contains your favorite Maynard vocal?
First place, with a whopping 47%: I Can't Get Started
Second place, with 14%: On the Sunny Side of the Street
Third place, with 11%: He Can't Swing
Fourth place, a two-way tie with 8% each:
- Doin' The Madison
- None, MF should only play, he can't sing (etc...)
In sixth place, with 6%: That's My Desire
One vote each:
- Ganesha
- As Time Goes By
This week's results really suprised me. I had no idea people liked "I Can't Get Started" so much! I didn't vote for it myself, but it still dominated. I also received 4 or 5 votes for vocal tunes that MF didn't sing on (Poison Ya Blues, etc..). I couldn't count those.
Week 26: Who is/was your favorite Maynard Ferguson arranger?
First place, with 41%: Denis DiBlasio
Second place, with 18%: Jay Chattaway
Third place, with 15%: Slide Hampton
Fourth place, a tie with 6% each:
- Chip McNeil
- Willie Maiden
Receiving one nod each:
- Tom Garling
- Randy Purcell
- Mike Abene
- Scott Wiley
- Don Sebeski
Week 25: What trumpet player do you feel compares to Maynard in range and style?
More votes came in on this question than any previous question. And I love the answer!
First place, with 21%: Nobody!
Second place, a tie with 11% each: Jon Faddis and Arturo Sandoval
Fourth place, with 9%: Bill Chase
Fifth place, with 8%: Cat Anderson
Sixth place, with 6%: Scott Englebright
Seventh place, with 4%: Dave Stahl
Receiving one vote each:
- Lew Soloff
- Doc Severinsen
- Stan Mark
- Rich Szabo
- Walt Johnson
- Danny Barber
- Scott Wiley
- Mark Van Cleave
- Bobby Shew
- Roger Ingram
- Walter White
- Roy Eldridge
- Lin Biviano
- Matt Germann
- Kevin Foster
- Paul Cacia
Week 24: What does S.O.M.F. from MF Horn III stand for?
Ask a silly question...
First place, with 30%: The Sound of Maynard Ferguson
Second place, with 25%: Son of Maynard Ferguson
Receiving One Vote Each:
- Some Old Mother F*$%&@
- Sound Of My Flugelhorn
- Some Other Mother F*$#%!
- Shout Out Maynard Ferguson
- Standard Operating Maynard Ferguson
- Some of Maynard Ferguson
- Same Ole Maynard Ferguson
- Slightly Overweight Maynard Ferguson
- Samadhi of Maynard Ferguson
Week 23: What Maynard Ferguson song would you like played at your funeral?
First Place, with 14%: Macarthur Park
In Second Place, a two-way tie with 8% each:
- Birdland
- An Offering of Love, Part I
In Fourth Place, a 5-WAY TIE!!! (5% each)
- Country Road
- Conquistador
- Give It One
- Pagliacci
- Everybody Loves the Blues
Mentioned once each:
- Hey Jude
- La Fiesta
- Gabriel
- Gonna Fly Now
- Gospel John
- It's The Gospel Truth
- Mr. Mellow
- South 21st Shuffle
- Summertime
- The Way They Were
- Round Midnight
- Fireshaker
- Portuguese Love
- You Can Have Me Anytime
- Ganesha
- Blue Birdland
Week 22: How many individual Maynard Ferguson albums do you own?
Here's the breakdown!
- Less than 10 albums: 35%
- 10 - 25 albums: 15%
- 26 - 50 albums: 27%
- 51 - 75 albums: 12%
- 75 - 100 albums: 12%
Week 21: Who is your favorite group/musican besides Maynard Ferguson?
Wow..what a huge variety of answers this week! It just goes to show you how diverse Maynard's listening audience is!
First Place, with 15%: Bill Chase (the man)
Second Place, with 13%: Arturo Sandoval
Third Place, with 10%: Chase (the group)
Fourth Place, with 8%: Clifford Brown
Receiving one vote each:
- Bill Watrous
- GRP All-Star Big Band
- Bush
- Chicago
- Carl Fischer
- Weather Report
- Doc Severinsen/Tonight Show Band
- Rich Szabo
- The Beatles
- Woody Herman
- Bob Curnow's LA Big Band
- Stan Kenton
- JJ Johnson
- Alan Jackson
- Manhatten Transfer
- Buddy Rich
- Cannonball Adderly
- Art Blakey
- Clark Terry
- Count Basie
- Cat Anderson
- Roger Ingram
Week 20: What album do you think had Maynard's most talented band on it?
First place, with 21%: One More Trip to Birdland
Tied for 2nd place: (14% each)
- Chameleon
- Live From San Francisco
- MF Horn 4 & 5
Fifth place, with 11%: Big Bop Nouveau
Sixth place, with 7%: Carnival
Receiving one vote each:
- Body and Soul
- Message From Newport
- Kenton's Bebopper Groups
- These Cats Can Swing
- The Birdland Dreamband
Week 19: How many times have you seen Maynard in concert?
Average number of concerts per voter: 9.1
Lowest number: 0
Highest number: 1,796 (by Rich Szabo, former MF band member!)
Week 18: What song contains Maynard's highest note?
Man..this question got a HUGE response!!!
First place, with 30%: Star Trek
Second place, with 13%: Hot Canary
Third place, with 11%: Ole'
Fourth place, with 9%: Hey Jude (Great American Music Hall Vol. 2)*
Fifth place, with 7%: I Can't Get Started
Sixth place, with 4%: Hey Jude (MF Horn 2)
One vote each:
- Eli's Comin
- Macarthur Park
- The Fox Hunt
- All God's Chillun Got Rhythm
- Viva Prado (Kenton)
- Conquistador
- Gospel John
- Maria
- Macarena
- Give it One
- Pagliacci
- Battlestar Gallactica
* - This is not an "official" Maynard Ferguson release.
Week 17: What song contains Maynard's best solo?
Once again, there was an incredible response to this question. There was one clear winner, but a huge tie for second place!
First place, with 21%: Ole
Second place, with 6% each, a 6-way tie!
- Macarena
- Gospel John
- Macarthur Park
- The Fox Hunt
- La Fiesta
- Prologue (This is an Orchestra)
Receiving one vote each:
- The Spirit of St. Frederick
- L-Dopa
- Hey Jude
- Airegin
- Everybody Loves the Blues
- Can't Get Started With You
- In a Mellow Tone
- Birdland
- Bridge Over Troubled Water
- Over the Rainbow (Stratospheric)
- Spinning Wheel
- Fireshaker
- You Said It (w/ the Birdland Dreamband)
- Fantasy
- Watermelon Man
Week 16: What was the first Maynard Ferguson album you ever heard?
Wow! What an amazing response this question received! Maynard's music must be a little like the Kennedy assassination...everyone knows where they were and what album they heard!
First place, with 17%: Live From San Francisco
Second Place, with 14%: Chameleon
Tied for third, with 10% each:
- The Best of Maynard Ferguson
- MF Horn I
- MF Horn II
Tied for sixth place, with 7% each:
- The Essence of Maynard Ferguson
- Conquistador
Eighth place, with 5%: Live at Jimmy's
Receiving one vote each:
- Alive and Well in London
- Dues
- Primal Scream
- Big Bop Nouveau
- High Voltage
- New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm (Stan Kenton)
- Hot
- Footpath Cafe
- Message From Newport
Week 15: Who was/is your favorite MF piano player?
This was the last week of the dream band surveys! Here's the results:
The MF dream band pianist is, with 19%: Dan Zank
Tied for second, with 13% each:
- Alan Zavad
- Ron Pedley
Mentioned once each:
- Bob James
- Bert Ligon
- Clay Perry
- Biff Hannon
- Jeff Pittson
- Joe Zawinul
- Ron Oswanski
- Chick Corea
- Christian Jacob
Week 14: Who was/is your favorite MF bass player?
Wow...not a very strong response this week... I guess the MF crowd doesn't pay too much attention to bass players...
The MF dream band bass player is, with 32%: Matt Bissonette
In second place, with 17%: Rick Petrone
One vote each:
- Chris Berger
- Lou Carfa
- Phil Palombi
- Stanley Clarke
- Joel DiBartolo
- Bobby Wackerman
Week 13: Who was/is your favorite MF drummer?
The MF dream band results keep rollin' in! This week's winning drummer seemed to blow away the competition!
The MF Dream Band drummer, with 28%: Peter Erskine
Second place, with 17%: Gregg Bissonette
Tied for third place, with 8% each:
- Dave Mancini
- Marco Marcinko
- Danny D'Imperio
Receiving one nod each:
- Bob Econimo
- Jim Rupp
- Steve Fisher
- Rufus Jones
- Dave Weckl (he played with MF? Hmm...)
Week 12: Who was/is your favorite MF trombonist?
The third week of dream band results are in..... This week...trombones! MF usually traveled with two trombones, so here we go:
In first place, with 26%: Tom Garling
In second place, with 19%: Slide Hampton
These are the two dream band trombone players! But, other players got a lot of votes, too:
In third place, with 16%: Steve Wiest
In fourth place, with 13%: Randy Purcell
In fifth place, with 10%: Nick Lane
One vote each:
- Kenny Rupp
- Don Sebesky
- Jack Gale
- Roger Homefield
- Phil Gray
- Chris Brayman
Week 11: Who was/is your favorite MF saxophonist?
The second week of the "dream band" theme is over! This is quite a sax section, though perhaps not perfect, as we didn't make any distinctions between bari, alto, soprano, etc... But, oh well, we still came up with four cats that can really blow!
First place, with 27%: Bruce Johnstone
Second place, with 23%: Denis DiBlasio
Third place, with 12%: Chip McNeil
Fourth place, with 8%: Mike Migliore
Receiving one vote each:
- Chris Farr
- Mark Colby
- Lanny Morgan
- Matt Wallace
- Tim Ries
- Rick Margitza
- Bobby Millitello
- Willie Maiden
Week 10: Who was/is your favorite MF trumpeter?
The first week's results of the "dream band" survey are in! What a trumpet section you guys came up with! I'm going to stick w/ MF's 70's band where there were 4 trumpets, because the top four trumpets are all incredible. Here are the winners:
Lead Trumpet, with 29%: Scott Englebright
Playing 2nd part, with 25%: Stan Mark
Playing 3rd part, with 14%: Bill Chase
Playing 4th part, with 7%: Roger Ingram
Receiving one vote each:
- Rich Szabo
- Lin Biviano
- Hugh Ragin
- Lynn Nicholson
- Joe Mosello
- Don Rader
- Brian Thompson
Week 9: What is your favorite MF cover tune? (Song that was originally played by another artist)
Sheesh..no contest this week!
First place, with 24%: Birdland
Second place, tied with 12%: A Night in Tunisia, Country Road, and Macarthur Park
Fifth place, with 8%: Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me
Receiving one vote each:
- Round Midnight
- Chameleon
- Airegin
- La Fiesta
- Hey Jude
- Star Trek
- Theme from "Shaft"
- Take the "A" Train
- You Can Have Me Anytime
- Maria
- In A Mello Tone
Week 8: What is the out-of-print MF album most in need of reissuing?
Woah! What a landslide this week! I knew this album would win, but I didn't realize by how much.
The winner, with 67% of the votes: MF Horn 4 & 5, Live at Jimmy's!!!
These received one vote each:
- New Vintage
- Trumpet Rhapsody
- Big Bop Nouveau
- The Ballad Style of MF
- Hot
- Trumpets On High
- The Best of Maynard Ferguson
- Primal Scream
I received lots of entries with several votes each, in which case I used the first entry.
Week 7: What is your least favorite Maynard song?
Well, there was a clear *ahem* "winner" this week!
- First Place: Mister Mellow (14%)
- Second Place: Swamp (10%)
There was a three-way tie for third place:
Third Place (each with 7% of the vote)
- Nine to Five
- Battlestar Galactica
- Stella By Starlight
The rest received only one vote each. You won't believe some of the songs on this list!
- Ganesha
- Chameleon
- Soar Like an Eagle
- Baker Street
- Star
- Doin the Madison (part 2)
- Rocky II Disco
- Poison Ya Blues
- Go With the Flo
- Blue Birdland
- Star Trek
- Cheshire Cat Walk
- Rocky
- Gellar's Cellar (in whichever form or title)
- Snap
- Walkin' On The Pier
Week 6: What decade do you think produced Maynard's best music? (50's-90's)
Well...this week was a blowout!
Winner with a whopping 61% of the votes:
These tied for second:
- 1950's
- 1960's
- 1990's
Each of those decades received 13% of the votes
Sadly, the 1980's came in DEAD LAST with a big, fat 0% of the votes. Apparentely, there aren't that many die-hard fans of the High Voltage era. But, many of MF's best albums came from the 80's, such as "Live From San Francisco".
Week 5: What Maynard song have you never seen live, that you really wish you could?
This was an interesting week...one song dominated the survey, while the rest of the songs got only one vote each! The big winner, with 20% of the votes, was:
The rest of the tunes that were mentioned:
- Coconut Champagne
- Cruisin for a Bluesin
- Fox Hunt
- Hey Jude
- Fireshaker
- Maria
- MF Hit Medley
- Conquistador
- Ole'
- Star Trek
- Hot Canary
- Primal Scream
- Chala Nata
- I Can't Get Started
- Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me
Week 4: What's your favorite Maynard Ferguson album cover?
- New Vintage - a whopping 42% of the votes!!!
- Live at Jimmy's - 13% of the votes
The following tied at 8% of the votes each:
- Live From London
- MF Horn 2
- MF Horn 3
- Si! Si! MF
The following received 4% of the votes or less:
- Straight Ahead Jazz Themes
- Color Him Wild
- Storm
- Maynard Ferguson (also known as "Alive and Well in London")
Week 3: What's your favorite Maynard Ferguson song?
This week was a bit strange! There was a 4 WAY TIE for first place!!!
First place - with 13% of the vote each:
- Macarthur Park
- Pagliacci
- Conquistador
- Ole'
Other songs receiving 7% or less of the votes
- Round Midnight
- Geller's Cellar (or whatever)
- The Fugue
- Scheherazade
- Birdland (I can't believe this didn't do better)
- Hey Jude
- Gabriel
It might also be worth noting that MF's most popular song, "Gonna Fly Now" received no votes.
Week 2: Who is/was your favorite Maynard sideman?
This week there was a tie for first place!!!
- Denis Diblasio and Bill Chase - with 22% of the votes each!
- Matt Wallace - with 14% of the votes
Since there are/were so many sidemen, I had several that received only one or two votes. They are:
- Stan Mark
- Alan Wise
- Don Rader
- Bob Wackerman
- Don Ellis
- Nick Lane
- Lin Biviano
Week 1: What's your favorite Maynard Ferguson album?
The big winners:
- Chameleon - with 21% of the votes
- MF Horn 1 & 2 - with 14% of the votes
- MF Horn 4 & 5, Live at Jimmy's - with 11% of the votes
- These Cats Can Swing - with 7% of the votes
Others receiving less than 5% of the votes:
- LRC Jazz Classics Maynard Ferguson
- It's My Time
- Essence of Maynard Ferguson
- Primal Scream
- Dimensions
- Finger Snappin'
- Trumpet Rhapsody
- Live From San Francisco
- Alive and Well in London
- A Message From Newport
- Conquistador
- Carnival
- MF Mosaic Boxed Set (sheesh...is this fair?)
It's important to note that this question is hardly fair. Without a doubt, Chameleon is the most accessible MF album out there right now. The real achievement is probably Live at Jimmy's, as it is out of print and still got 11% of the votes!