Home Features Encounters My Week With Maynard Ferguson Storybook Version

My Week With Maynard Ferguson (Storybook Version)

In August of 1996, I was allowed to spend a week with Maynard and his band. He was in town for a three day gig at the Iowa State Fair. I'm in the process of writing up an account of the week, but you can take a sneak preview of the week by checking out the pictures below. These will be in a more efficient layout (with thumbnails) soon. Warning, this page is extremely graphically intensive. If you have a very slow connection, this will take a while, and you may want to wait until I have thumbnails of these images.

© All photos copyright Randy Keller, 1996.

First, I was allowed to drive Maynard to and from the gig! I picked him up a couple of hours before the gig, and then took him back after the autographs. Since there were 3 shows, that made a total of 6 trips with Maynard. Each trip provided more stories from MF, some of which I will try to type up. In this picture, trumpeters Scott Englebright and J. Roberts are in the back seat.

Then, I was given a T-shirt and told to introduce the band! Man, was I nervous...but you just don't pass up an opportunity like that. So, for each show, I started with these words: "Ladies and Gentleman, let's give a big Iowa State Fair welcome to Maynard Ferguson and his Big Bop Nouveau Band!" It was quite a rush. Before each show, MF would give me some advice from backstage, such as "Now, I don't want to hear any of that crazy Doc Severinsen stuff!"

Then, it was concert time!!!!

Between sets, I hung out with the band. Here's me and Scott Englebright (lead trumpet).

With Carl Fischer...(trumpet)

With Chris Farr...(sax)

With Ed Sargent...(tour manager)

And of course, with Maynard!

In fact, the whole family snuck a picture! From left to right (excluding MF): Randy Keller (my father), Kris Keller (my mother), Sarah Keller (my sister), Matt Keller (me), Anne McIlhon (my fiance'), and Lance Rafdal (buddy from school).