Maynard Ferguson - Live From London (1994)

Utilizing a 13-piece band that includes ten horns, Maynard Ferguson performs bebop with his Big Bop Nouveau on this CD. All of the music is fairly basic, using common chord changes and charts that leave plenty of room for solos. Ferguson shows at age 65 that he still has most of his outstanding range and, assisted by a trumpet section full of screamers, the performances are boisterous and sometimes a bit bombastic. Chip McNeill takes a passionate soprano solo on "A Night in Tunisia," Matt Wallace has a couple of rewarding spots on tenor and trumpeter Walter White fares well on "Fox Hunt," but it is the leader who gives this music its main personality.