William Ralph Maiden (March 12, 1928 – May 29, 1976) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

saxophonist and arranger. Maiden began on piano at age five and started playing saxophone at 11. He spent most of his career playing in

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

s, and while he recorded copiously as a sideman, he never led his own session. He worked with Perez Prado in 1950 and arranged for Maynard Ferguson from 1952 into the 1960s. He played with

Charlie Barnet Charles Daly Barnet (October 26, 1913 – September 4, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His major recordings were "Skyliner", " Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", "In a Mizz", and "Southland Shuffl ...

in 1966, and played baritone sax in addition to arranging for

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though K ...

between 1969 and 1973. After this he taught at the

University of Maine at Augusta The University of Maine at Augusta (UMaine Augusta or UMA) is a public college in Augusta, Maine. It is part of the University of Maine System. UMA provides Bachelor's degree, baccalaureate and select associate degrees for residents of Central M ...

until his death in 1976.

Discography

With Maynard Ferguson *''

Dimensions In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus, a line has a dimension of one (1D) because only one coordin ...

'' (EmArcy, 1954) – as arranger * '' A Message from Newport'' (Roulette, 1958) – as performer and arranger *'' Swingin' My Way Through College'' (Roulette, 1959) – as composer, performer and arranger *''

Maynard Ferguson Plays Jazz for Dancing ''Maynard Ferguson Plays Jazz for Dancing'' is an album released by Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson featuring tracks recorded in early 1959 and originally released on the Roulette label.Minn, MMaynard Ferguson discography accessed Octob ...

'' (Roulette, 1959) – as composer, performer and arranger *''

Newport Suite ''Newport Suite'' is an album recorded by Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson featuring tracks recorded in 1960 and originally released on the Roulette Records, Roulette label.Minn, M.

Let's Face the Music and Dance "Let's Face the Music and Dance" is a song written in 1936 by Irving Berlin for the film ''Follow the Fleet'', where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and featured in a celebrated dance duet with Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The jazz song has als ...

'' (Roulette, 1960) – as performer and arranger *''Maynard '61'' (Roulette, 1961) – as performer and arranger *''Double Exposure (Chris Connor and Maynard Ferguson album), Double Exposure'' (Atlantic, 1961) with Chris Connor *''Two's Company (Maynard Ferguson and Chris Connor album), Two's Company'' (Roulette, 1961) with Chris Connor *'' "Straightaway" Jazz Themes'' (Roulette, 1961) – as performer and arranger *'' Maynard '62'' (Roulette, 1962) – as performer and arranger *'' Si! Si! M.F.'' (Roulette, 1962) – as performer *'' Maynard '63'' (Roulette, 1962) – as performer *'' Message from Maynard'' (Roulette, 1962) – as performer * ''

Maynard '64 ''Maynard '64'' is an album released by Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson collecting tracks recorded between 1959 and 1962 which was originally released on the Roulette Records, Roulette label.Minn, MMaynard Ferguson discography accessed Fe ...

'' (Roulette 1959-62

963 Year 963 ( CMLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 15 – Emperor Romanos II dies at age 25, probably of poison admini ...

– as composer, performer and arranger *'' The New Sounds of Maynard Ferguson'' (Cameo, 1963) – as composer, performer and arranger *'' Come Blow Your Horn'' (Cameo, 1963) *'' Color Him Wild'' (Mainstream, 1965) – as composer, performer and arranger *''

The Blues Roar ''The Blues Roar'' (also released as ''Screamin' Blues'') is an album released by Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson featuring tracks recorded in 1964 and originally released on the Mainstream label.Edwards, D., Callahan, Eyries, P., Watts, ...

'' (Mainstream, 1965) – as performer and arranger *'' The Maynard Ferguson Sextet'' (Mainstream, 1965) – as composer and performer *'' Stan Kenton and his orchestra live at Brigham Young University''(April Fool 1971) - as performer, composer and arranger

References

* Scott Yanow, Willie Maidenat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

*Richard Cook & Morton, Brian: ''The Penguin Guide To Jazz on CD'', 6th Edition, London, Penguin, 2002 . {{DEFAULTSORT:Maiden, Willie 1928 births 1976 deaths American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists 20th-century American saxophonists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians