Jul 22, 2026 12:37 PM
In Memoriam: Rodney Holmes, 1966–2026
Drummer Rodney Holmes, a powerful presence behind the kit who emerged as an in-demand player on the New York scene…
Trumpeter Walter “Maynard” Ferguson died on Wednesday at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, Calif. He was 78. Ferguson’s death was the result of kidney and liver failure brought on by an abdominal infection.
A widely popular and acclaimed musician, Ferguson had recently returned to his California home from New York where he performed at the Blue Note club. While on the East Coast, Ferguson and his Big Bop Nouveau band recorded a new album in New Jersey.
Born in Verdun, Canada, Ferguson studied at Montreal’s French Conservatory. He worked with such bandleaders as Charlie Barnet in the late 1940s, and then received greater attention as a sideman for Stan Kenton in the early 1950s. Ferguson’s facility for his unique style of hitting high notes made him highly valued when he set out on his own in 1953. In 1957, the trumpeter began leading his own big band and maintained that format, although economic circurmstances occasionally caused him to scale back to smaller combos.
During the 1970s, Ferguson received popular success for his theme song from the film Rocky . Yet he never coasted on such rewards, as he expanded his proficiency to the french horn, trombone, euphonium, and his own hybrid trumpet invention. Sometimes Ferguson would play them all during a single set.
Ferguson’s recordings include Message From Newport (Roulette, 1958), Maynard Ferguson’s Horn (Columbia, 1970), Live From San Francisco (Palo Alto, 1983) and Brass Attitude (Concord, 1998).
A drummer’s drummer, Rodney Holmes gigged with everyone from Joe Zawinul and Carlos Santana to Steve Kimock and the Brecker Brothers.
Jul 22, 2026 12:37 PM
Drummer Rodney Holmes, a powerful presence behind the kit who emerged as an in-demand player on the New York scene…
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