New York Philharmonic Orchestra LPs with Maynard Ferguson
THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA, WILLIAM RUSSO SYMPHONY NO. 2, THE "TITANS" -- Voice of America USC-99
Back in 1959, Maynard was guest soloist with the NY Philharmonic Orchestra for four performances of William Russo's Symphony No. 2 "Titans." Russo, better known to most of us as "Bill" Russo, was a member of Maynard's band and arranged a number of jazz charts for him. When he wrote "Titans" for the NY Phil, he had Maynard in mind for the trumpet solo, and indeed, Maynard got the gig. In 1960, Voice of America pressed a few radio station transcription LPs of this performance for use in their radio stations in Europe. (Since they were for radio station use, only, they did not come in picture covers -- just generic sleeves.) For 40+ years, you could only get this performance on one of these LPs, and they were not in the hands of the public until 4 copies were purchased from a record dealer in the Washington, D.C. area in 1993. Then, a couple of years ago, the New York Philharmonic released this performance of "Titans" as part of a 10-CD set for $195.00. They also released Maynard's track on a cheaper sampler CD. Indeed, Maynard only plays on ONE track -- Movement IV of "Titans." So, unless you're an ULTRA serious MF collector, buy the 10-CD set or buy the CD sampler which I have listed on my site and don't sweat getting this rare radio station transcription LP. But if you want THE ULTIMATE MF LP, then this is it. Until June, 2013, I had been able to track down exactly 4 known copies of this LP -- the ones mentioned above. Copy 1, which I acquired in 2002, is in my personal collection, and it cost me $700.00. It's autographed by Maynard. Copy 2 (not autographed) was purchased then resold by me in 2003 for $850.00 and it now resides in New Jersey. Copy 3 (not autographed) was purchased, then resold by me in 2003 for $900.00 and now resides in California. Copy 4 remains in the hands of the gentleman who made the original purchase in 1993, in the greater Washington, D.C. area, and he has stated that he will only sell for somewhere in four figures. In June, 2013, the same record dealer who sold the first four copies sold two more copies (to me), making a total of 6 known copies in private hands. He claims that he has no more. So given that there are now only 6 known, and the one known source appears to have dried up, this LP is something like 2000 times rarer than the Ballad Style of MF LP. I subsequently sold these two newly found copies the next day after I received them. Copy 5 (not autographed) now resides in Tennessee. Copy 6 (not autographed), now resides in Delaware. Copy 6 sold for $1200.00. So, as you can see, these are getting more expensive as time rolls on. Given their extreme rarity and desirability, it's no wonder.
SORRY! NO COPIES AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME, AND I MAY NEVER HAVE ONE TO OFFER AGAIN UNLESS ONE OF THE 6 KNOWN COPIES COMES ON THE MARKET SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE.
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Email: johnwhimes@yahoo.com