Sherman Ferguson


Sherman Eugene Ferguson was an American jazz drummer. For a time he was a member of the jazz trio Heard Ranier Ferguson.

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.

Discography

As leader

  • Sherman Ferguson's Jazz Union, Welcome to My Vision
With Catalyst
  • Catalyst
  • Perception
  • Unity
  • A Tear and a Smile
  • ''Heard Ranier Ferguson''

    As sideman

With Kenny Burrell
With George Cables
  • Morning Song
With Benny Carter
With Warne Marsh
With Pat Martino
  • Desperado
  • Pat Martino/Live!
  • Consciousness
  • Interchange
With Tete Montoliu
  • Carmina
With Pharoah Sanders
  • Crescent with Love
  • Ballads with Love
With Bud Shank