All That Jazz in Ojai Is for Good Cause

Libbey Bowl was jumpin’ with the sounds of Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker and Stan Getz on Sunday when jazz legend Maynard Ferguson made a rare local appearance in a benefit performance for the Nordhoff High School music department and Ojai Day 2000.

Before a rapt crowd that nearly filled the small outdoor amphitheater, Ferguson--an Ojai resident--blasted out classic swing numbers and cool jazz favorites such as “The Girl From Ipanema.”

The trumpeter and his Big Bop Nouveau Band also played hits from the big-band era as well as straight-up jazz, like Parker’s “Just Friends.”

The high school hoped to raise $1 million for its new performing arts facility.

Ventura resident Marve Blue said he squeezed in time to hear some of the performance before his own gig later Sunday at a Ventura piano bar.

“When I heard he was playing, I had to make time,” said Blue, as his wife, Nui, applauded a saxophone solo. “I had to catch Maynard. I have some of his early 45s.”

Ferguson and his band are on tour, but he agreed to the performance as part of his efforts to nurture the musical tradition among younger generations, said concert coordinator Jody James. The members of Ferguson’s band are college students from across North America.

The band is due in Minneapolis on Tuesday for a holiday concert, James said.

James, an employee of the city of Ojai, said she hopes the performance will be the start of a new trend at Libbey Bowl, which she said is underused.

“It’s such a great place,” said James, who coordinates the annual Ojai Day street fair. “It holds a lot of people, but it’s still a small venue. And the acoustics are great.”

She has also planned a blues concert for late August. The proceeds from that show will raise money for a new community arts center, she said.

The 22-member Nordhoff High jazz band opened the show and performed a variety of musical styles.

Adryon Gross, 18, wowed the crowd of more than 600 with a humorous version of “Makin’ Whoopee,” and they rocked to the band’s performance of Santana’s “Evil Ways.”

Gross, who just graduated from Nordhoff, caught her breath back stage after performing.

“I can hardly wait for Maynard,” she said. “He’s so awesome.”

Trumpeter Charlene McCord ran to catch a seat before Ferguson went on.

The high school junior said she often hears him practicing when she’s at the Presbyterian church near his home.

“He’s incredible, and he’s a nice guy,” said Charlene, 15.

While she often hears him practicing, Vicki Peters, a neighbor of Ferguson’s, said she had to come out to hear him at the Libbey Bowl.

“It’s multidimensional with the filtered light from the trees and winds rustling in the leaves,” said Peters, 45. “Plus he’s my neighbor. I had to do this.”