[TPIN] "Now why don't he write?"

[RickTrumpetMan at aol.com]

Okay, I usually let the flow of ideas go by here unless something  makes even 
my graying jaded eyebrows go up.  Usually, I then jump  in and regret it 
later.  So here's my two cents worth:
 
Forget the back cover of M.F. Horn III as a "reference" statement  about 
M.F.'s setup.  He was well known to move the horn all over  his face within a 
performance.   (With not much in the  way of derogatory impact on the quality of 
what he was playing, btw.)   If he didn't like what he heard he kept moving 
around until he found something  he liked better.  I've (and so have a bunch of 
people here) seen him do  it.
 
I was always a little irritated  by the occasional High School Director (well 
meaning maybe,  but ultimately clueless, usually-interestingly-a reed player) 
who started  all that "Arm Strong" method schmooze.  The pressure you see  
Ferguson use is what it takes (took, sorry....) to cancel the opposing  cyclone 
that WAS his air column.  Couple that to what has to be a  nearly ideally 
efficient embouchure (AND impeccable musicianship, not to be  overlooked, If he'd 
had no ear there'd have been NO "Move", NO  "The Fugue" or take your pick 
really) and you get,  well...... a legend.
 
I also recommend (for POV ballast) looking closely at the sheer  
effortlessness he exhibits on the (now very widely re-disseminated) Kenton and  '58 
Newport videos.
 
We take a lot of enjoyment in disagreeing with each other over  seemingly 
endless minutiae and that'll never change, but I'd wager there's  a whole BUNCH 
of all 'four p's" in every  TPIN members playing if there are  "FFFF"s like 
Ferguson's taking  place! 
 
 
Best Regards,
 
Rick Price
Legacy Brass
Charlotte, NC
 



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