Sure, he played notes that reached up to high heaven, but if Maynard Ferguson hadn't also possessed an unerring sense of swing, that parlor trick wouldn't have sustained a half-century career. His early performances on some of Stan Kenton's most adventurous recordings from the ‘50s were just the start of a discography that eventually saw him tackle pop-friendly fusion (for Columbia, in the ‘70s) as well as collaborations with fellow trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and vocalist Diane Schuur in the ‘00s.