New Vintage

by Matt CollarTrumpeter Maynard Ferguson's 1977 album New Vintage was yet another foray into the gluttonously epic, rock-infused jazz he had already perfected on such albums as Primal Scream and Conquistador -- the latter of which contained Ferguson's popular version of "Gonna Fly Now," the theme from Rocky. Featuring his cheekily named MF Big Band, New Vintage once again centers around the high-note horn man's take on a movie song, this time "Star Wars (Main Title)" gets the disco-funk treatment. Utterly gimmicky and bereft of any actual jazz, the track works now as a time capsule of late-'70s kitsch. This is not to say it's bad, just cheesy. Yeah, no self-respecting post-bopper really wanted anything to do with this stuff back then, but for classes of middle- and high-school-age kids lucky enough to catch one of the MF Big Band's school tours, this was the proof that "band geeks" could have fun and be cool at the same time. However, why he thought anyone would ever have a need for a disco-funk version of Rimsky-Korsakaov's "Scheherazade" may never be known.