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What does anyone feel an original 78 version of this recording value would be? This 78 recording is one of the very rare, non-released copies which was banned at one time by the Jerome Kern Estate.
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Maynard Ferguson
Wow! The Formative Years
Play Wow! The Formative Years
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AMG Review of Wow! The Formative Years
Matt Collar
All Music GuideLong before the wah-wah guitars, the polyester body suits, and "Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky)," trumpeter Maynard Ferguson was a stellar high-note technician with deft op improvisational chops. In other words, a ig-band-era ock star or op star, if you will. Wow! The Formative Years collects various tracks the trumpeter recorded with a handful of ensembles from the late '40s to the late '50s. This was the young Ferguson's prime developmental period, when he made his name playing both lead and solo horn for a who's-who cast of bandleaders including Stan Kenton, Charlie Barnet, and Ben Webster -- all featured here. Also showcased are Ferguson's own cuts as leader with his orchestra and octet. These are high-energy, swinging, and ebop-centric recordings that find Ferguson heavily influenced by his legendary contemporary Dizzy Gillespie. As a single-disc anthology, Wow! is a perfect introduction to one of the most celebrated -- and yet often taken for granted -- jazz talents of the 20th century.
Original 78 Recording
 "Wow! The Formative Years")
