MF As Seen By EVen His Bus-Driver
If you're into Maynard, this is a must-read. Interviews range from Lanny Morgan and Charlie Barnet to Stan Mark and Lew Tabackin. Even Maynard's driver is here. You get the idea that Maynard was not exactly Buddy Rich or Goodman as a leader, and that his sidemen liked him, respected, and didn't really know him. There are a couple of mildly dissonant notes, including Charlie Barnet, who paints MF as an opportunist and Irene Kraal (I hope I spelled her name right), who--not surprisingly--says his band was tough to sing with. With all the heavy hitters on trumpet here--Lynn Nicholson, Dennis Noday, and more--you're sort of waiting for more insight into Maynard's technique, mechanics,and stuff like that, but there isn't much other than he played with his body, which even I knew. Mostly, you can learn about some periods of Maynard's career that were unfamiliar to you, and I bought All The Things You Are recorded with Barnet as a result of reading about it. Yeah, it was tasteless virtuosity that had nothing to do with the tune, but I can see why it freaked guys like Al Porcino out
