1977 Maynard Ferguson – Conquistador
Conquistador is the ninth album by Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson on Columbia Records. The album is notable for its inclusion of the hit single “Gonna Fly Now (Theme from “Rocky”)”.
After the experience of creating Primal Scream without his touring band, Ferguson was determined to see them become an integral part of his next effort. While Bob James was firmly in control of the production, Ferguson was insistent that his band members would be a part of the proceedings. It became a bi-coastal effort, with the touring band recording in San Francisco between dates, and the James crew recording in New York. Two of the songs were recorded entirely in New York without any participation by Ferguson’s band: the themes from Star Trek and Rocky.
Tracks
1 Gonna Fly Now (Theme From “Rocky”) (Bill Conti; Ayn Robbins; Carol Connors) 04:22
2 Mister Mellow (Jay Chattaway; Maynard Ferguson) 06:27
3 Theme From Star Trek (Alexander Courage; Gene Roddenberry) 06:19
4 Conquistador (Jay Chattaway; Maynard Ferguson) 07:31
5 Soar Like An Eagle (Bob James) 06:35
6 The Fly (Jay Chattaway; Maynard Ferguson) 04:32
Biography
The Band
| Bass | Gordon Johnson |
| Drums | Peter Erskine |
| Keyboards | Biff Hannon |
| Sax | Mike Migliore |
| Sax | Mark Colby |
| Trombone | Randy Purcell |
| Trombone | Roger Homefield |
| Trumpet | Stan Mark |
| Trumpet | Dennis Noday |
Other Musicians
| Bass | Gary King |
| Bass | Will Lee |
| Drums | Harvey Mason Sr |
| Drums | Allan Schwartzberg |
| Drums | Phil Kraus |
| Guitar | George Benson |
| Guitar | Eric Gale |
| Guitar | Jeff Layton |
| Guitar | Lance Quinn |
| Keyboards | Bob James |
| Keyboards | Ken Ascher |
| French Horn | Brooks Tillotson |
| French Horn | Donald Corrado |
| Sax | George Young |
| Sax | Joe Farrell |
| Trombone | Wayne Andre |
| Trombone | Paul Faulise |
| Trombone | David Taylor |
| Trombone | Julian Priester |
| Trumpet | Jon Faddis |
| Trumpet | Marvin Stamm |
| Trumpet | Randy Brecker |
| Trumpet | Alan Rubin |
| Trumpet | Bernie Glow |
| Trumpet | Marky Markowitz |
| Trumpet | Jim Bossy |
| Percussion | Ralph MacDonald |
| Vocals | Patti Austin |
| Vocals | Lani Groves |
| Vocals | Gwen Guthrie |
| Vocals | Linda November |
| Vocals | Ellen Bernfield |
| Vocals | Vivian Cherry |
| Vocals | Richard Berg |
| Vocals | Martin Nelson |
The Solos
1 Gonna Fly Now (Theme From “Rocky”)
| Guitar | Jeff Layton |
| Trumpet | Maynard Ferguson |
2 Mister Mellow
| Guitar | George Benson |
| Flugelhorn | Maynard Ferguson |
3 Theme From Star Trek
| Flute | Bobby Militello |
| Trumpet | Maynard Ferguson |
4 Conquistador
| Sax | Mark Colby |
| Trumpet | Maynard Ferguson |
5 Soar Like An Eagle
| Piano | Bob James |
| Sax | Mark Colby |
| Trumpet | Maynard Ferguson |
6 The Fly
| Sax | Mike Migliore |
| Trumpet | Maynard Ferguson |
Strings – Alan Shulman, Albert Scheonmaker, Alfred Brown, Charles Libove, Charles McCracken, David Nadien, Emanuel Vardi, Eugene Noye, Harold Kohon, Harry Cykman, Harry Lookofsky, Marvin Morgenstern, Matthew Raimondi, Max Ellen, Max Pollikoff, Paul Gershman, Richard Sortomme
Liner Notes
Producer – Jay Chattaway
Arranged By – Jay Chattaway (Tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 6)
Arranged By – Bob James (Track 5)
Engineer – Joe Jorgensen
Engineer (Sound) – Tony Romano
Mastered By – Vlado Meller
Painting – John Collier
Photography – Tom Copi
Mastered At CBS Studios, New York
Recorded At Mediasound
Recorded At CBS Studios, San Francisco
Recorded At Wally Heider Studios
Phonographic Copyright CBS Inc
Copyright CBS Inc