Si! Si! - M.F. (1962)

This CD compiled the two records, Maynard '61 (1960), and Si! Si! - M.F. (1962). The bands on those two records were "big bands lite", so to speak, a just-financeable way for Ferguson to work and experiment with big band charts and create an opulent sound. Both records were recorded in New York, and both embodied a young, innovative style at the beginning of the sixties. Those Andalusian scales were an ideal way to try out the new modal language of the time. The arrangements are consistently innovative and courageous, though without pointing in the direction of free jazz. This compilation is a clever way to discover these records, where the original albums are much harder to find. (rateyourmusic.com)