Era's

Maynard Ferguson was born on May 4, 1928, in Montreal, Canada. He began playing piano and violin at age four. At age nine, he discovered the trumpet. Four years later, he won a scholarship with the French Conservatory of Music, and was invited to perform with the Canadian Broadcasting Company Orchestra. As a student in Montreal, he was the leader of a warm-up band for some of the era's best-known orchestras, including Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey, Woody Herman and Dizzy Gillespie. In a 1996 interview, Ferguson said Dizzy Gillespie was second only to Louis Armstrong as his favorite horn player.