Siddhesh Joshi (Editor)

Sherman Ferguson

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Genres
  
Jazz

Name
  
Sherman Ferguson

Movies
  
Pirates of Silicon Valley

Years active
  
1960s - 2000s

Record label
  
Muse Records

Instruments
  
Drums

Spouse
  
Anni Sherman (m. ?–2006)

Role
  
Drummer


Labels
  
ITI Records, Muse Records

Died
  
January 22, 2006, La Crescenta, California, United States

Associated acts
  
Catalyst, Heard Ranier Ferguson

Similar People
  
Odean Pope, Tom Ranier, Joe Porcaro, Pat Martino, Mike Wofford

Occupation(s)
  
Jazz musician Artist

Kenny Burrell Trio - Jeannine (1990)


Sherman Ferguson (October 31, 1944, Philadelphia – January 22, 2006) was an American jazz drummer. For a time he was a member of the Jazz trio Heard Ranier Ferguson.

Contents

Background

Ferguson once said that when people asked him what he did, he wouldn't tell them he was a musician, he'd say he was a jazz musician. He said he was proud of it and he would wear it as a statement on his forehead if he could.

He also wrote liner notes and was a contributing writer. He wrote liner notes and articles for jazz magazines such as Bird and L.A. Jazz Scene.

Ferguson first played professionally around 1963, working with Charles Earland, Shirley Scott, Don Patterson, and Groove Holmes. he also recorded frequently with Pat Martino. Concomitantly he worked as a child tutor for the Model Cities program in Philadelphia. He was a founding member of Catalyst, a jazz fusion ensemble, in 1970, remaining with them until their breakup. He then moved to Los Angeles, where he became a prolific session musician, playing on albums by Dizzy Gillespie, Horace Silver, and Benny Carter among many others. He formed a trio with John Heard and Tom Ranier. He taught jazz theory at UCLA, UC-Irvine, and Jackson State University. He released the album Welcome to My Vision, on his own label Jazz-a-nance in 2002. Among the tracks on the album were "Lush Life", "Lester Left Town" and Bobby Watson's "Monk He See, Monk He Do". The band comprised Ferguson on drums, saxophonists Louis Van Taylor and Carl Randall and bassist Trevor Ware.

On January 22, 2006, Ferguson died at his La Crescenta home aged 61. The death was a result of diabetes.

As leader

  • Sherman Ferguson's Jazz Union - Welcome to My Vision
  • As credited member

  • Catalyst - Catalyst - Cobblestone – CST 9018 (1972)
  • Catalyst - Perception - Muse Records – MR 5025 (1973)
  • Catalyst - Unity - Muse Records – MR 5042 (1974)
  • Catalyst - A Tear And A Smile - Muse Records – MR 5069 (1976)
  • Heard Ranier Ferguson - ITI Records – JL 003 - 1983
  • as sideman

    With Kenny Burrell

  • Handcrafted (Muse, 1978)
  • Kenny Burrell Live at the Village Vanguard (Muse, 1978 [1980])
  • Kenny Burrell in New York (Muse, 1978 [1981])
  • With Warne Marsh

  • Two Days in the Life of... (Interplay, 1987)
  • With Pat Martino

  • Desperado (Prestige, 1970)
  • Pat Martino/Live! (Muse, 1972 [1974])
  • Consciousness (Muse, 1974)
  • Interchange (Muse, 1994)
  • With Tete Montoliu
  • Carmina (JazzIzz, 1984)
  • With Bud Shank

  • California Concert (Contemporary, 1985) with Shorty Rogers
  • Serious Swingers (Contemporary, 1987) with Bill Perkins
  • Further reading

  • Sherman Ferguson's Jazz Union: Welcome to My Vision . . . (2003) by Jack Bowers
  • References

    Sherman Ferguson Wikipedia