Ferguson, Band Joyfully Hit the High Notes

Maynard Ferguson didn’t waste any time giving a full-house crowd what it wanted at the House of Blues Thursday night. Dashing on stage after his Big Bop Nouveau band had established an appropriate musical setting, he promptly ripped off a set of the atmospheric trumpet high notes that have been his stock in trade for more than 50 years.

The effect was dramatic, rousing cheers of approval from the audience and undoubtedly triggering canine insomnia in a substantial portion of West Hollywood.

At 70, Ferguson still has a commanding control of his instrument and continues to be a respectable, if not especially innovative jazz soloist. But his most impressive achievement has always been his ability to organize first-rate, hard-swinging bands, and the group he brought to the House of Blues was no exception--a talented aggregation of highly spirited young players.

Big Bop Nouveau is not quite the size of a standard big jazz band, its 10 pieces consisting of three trumpeters (in addition to Ferguson), a trombonist, two saxophonists and a three-man rhythm section. The emphasis--with only two reed players--is obviously on the brass instruments, and most of the charts took full advantage of the players’ powerful playing skills.

The trumpet section was particularly impressive, fully capable of matching every one of Ferguson’s high notes. In fact, during a brief medley of the leader’s hits--including “McArthur Park” and “The Theme From Rocky”--trumpeter Adolfo Acosta fluently articulated the soaring solo lines while Ferguson strolled through the club shaking hands with his eager listeners.

But the real pleasures of the Big Bop Nouveau performance had less to do with individual efforts--despite some outstanding solo work--than with the collective verve and the sheer joy in making music that was palpably present on stage. The players listened carefully to one another as they soloed; when they came to the front of the band to play alongside Ferguson, they exchanged a humorous, but nonetheless respectfully interactive, handshake with the leader; and, above all, they played the complex, but rhythmically and melodically catchy charts with an enthusiasm that pulled the entire audience into the music.