Author Archives: Bill

My dad’s music

My dad would put together a band every so often to play for groups.  They played for free, although my dad would pay the musicians, because it was usually for a good cause.  Here he is introducing the members of … Continue reading

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“Christmas for Moderns”–Maynard Ferguson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IalB09-L34Y This was recorded around 1958 by Maynard’s band.  Maynard never did a Christmas album, so this was his only Christmas tune.  I didn’t know about it until Mosaic came out with all of his Roulette recordings in 1994.  It’s … Continue reading

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New Gordon Goodwin Christmas CD

http://youtu.be/h5fRSgADafc This tune is from a new Gordon Goodwin cd that came out in late 2015.  I have never really liked this song, but I like this version.  Gordon is one of my favorite writers, and I’m really glad he … Continue reading

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“Thanksgiving”

http://youtu.be/BpvHzuyP5YA I bought this cd in 1982 at a time when there were few CDs on the market.  I mainly just wanted to hear how good the cd format was, no matter what style of music it happened to be. … Continue reading

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Hugh Fowler presentation by Paris Rutherford

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More Maynard Ferguson

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The Windows

  We had to figure out something to cover the seven foot high windows in the jazz museum, and curtains didn’t seem like the right approach.  We decided on pictures, or paintings of some of the major players in the … Continue reading

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My Biggest Worry

My biggest concern with having a jazz museum was financial survival in a world where rock music rules.  Jazz and classical music are our intellectual styles of music and both are in danger financially today. I knew we wouldn’t be … Continue reading

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Our Harry James Trumpet

I had been reading books on jazz musicians since I had decided to retire from professional trumpet playing to start a jazz museum.  Since jazz history was not yet a college course when I was in school, I knew I … Continue reading

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Mark Taylor’s Other Donations

Along with the 2,200 albums Mark Taylor donated to our museum, there were two other major donations.  His dad had been personal friends with Stan Kenton over the years, and had acquired the band crate and Stan’s personal music folder.  … Continue reading

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