Maynard Ferguson - Body & Soul (2016)

After the release of 1983’s Storm, and the following year’s Live From San Francisco, Maynard Ferguson was on a creative roll. When Body & Soul appeared in 1986, Ferguson himself said “It’s my best album in many years! Bear in mind, this is music we’ve worked on for some time, re-designing it and changing it—the tunes are not something we just hatched for a studio session.”

And, re-design he did, removing some brass from the band’s lineup, and replacing them with guitar and percussion. Combining newly written material with the chestnut title track from 1930, Body & Soul’s original 6 tracks were a revelation for fans, old and new, with the MF band reaching heights higher than Ferguson’s trademark ionospheric double high “Cs.”

Omnivore Recordings, in conjunction with the Maynard Ferguson Trust, is happy to reintroduce this classic to the masses. To make this reissue even more special, three previously unissued tracks from the original sessions have been added. With new liner notes from MF band alumni Denis DiBlasio and multiple Grammy® nominee Steve Wiest, Body & Soul’s audio story is augmented by tales from the people who were there during its creation.

30 years later, the release has lost none of its power and influence. Gently surrender yourself to Body & Soul.