He was noted for his bands, which often served as stepping stones for up-and-coming talent,[3] his versatility on several instruments, and his ability to play in a high register.

He won a scholarship to the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal where he studied from 1943 to 1948 with Bernard Baker.

Ferguson dropped out of the High School of Montreal when he was fifteen to pursue a music career, performing in dance bands led by Stan Wood, Roland David, and Johnny Holmes.

[citation needed] Ferguson played with the Pérez Prado Orchestra on the LP Havana 3 A.M., recorded in February and March 1956.

The band included Mike Abene, Jaki Byard, Bill Chase, Ronnie Cuber, Frankie Dunlop, Don Ellis, Joe Farrell, Dusko Goykovich, Tony Inzalaco, Rufus Jones, Willie Maiden, Ron McClure, Rob McConnell, Don Menza, Lanny Morgan, Wayne Shorter, and Joe Zawinul.

[7] After leaving his long-time recording contract and the end of his main club gig, Ferguson moved his family to the Hitchcock Estate in Millbrook, New York in November 1963 to live with Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, and their community from Harvard University.

In 1967, as the Millbrook experiment was ending, Ferguson moved his family to India and taught at the Krishnamurti-based Rishi Valley School near Madras.

He was associated with the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning's Boys Brass Band, which he founded and helped teach for several years.

He replaced the British band members with American musicians while reducing membership[6] to twelve: four trumpets, two trombones, three saxophones, and a three-piece rhythm section.

[citation needed] In 1975, Ferguson began working with Bob James on a series of commercially successful albums with large groups of session musicians, including strings, vocalists, and guest soloists.

The first of these albums was Primal Scream, featuring Chick Corea, Mark Colby, Steve Gadd, and Bobby Militello.

In mid-1976, Ferguson performed a solo trumpet piece for the closing ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in Montreal, symbolically "blowing out the flame".

Ferguson recorded three big band albums with smaller labels before forming High Voltage, a fusion septet, in 1986.

[2] This smaller ensemble, which featured multi-reed player Denis DiBlasio, gave Ferguson the freedom explore in a less structured format.

[2] That then led to the formation of Big Bop Nouveau, a nine-piece band featuring two trumpets, one trombone, three reeds and a three-piece rhythm section which became his standard touring group for the remainder of his career.

Wilder Ferguson is married to jazz pianist, film composer and former Big Bop Nouveau member Christian Jacob.

Ferguson died as a result of kidney and liver failure, on August 23, 2006, at the Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, California.

Several recording sessions with bandleader Russell Garcia included a four-trombone ensemble in which Ferguson played only valve trombone.

His obituary in The Washington Post stated: Ferguson lit up thousands of young horn players, most of them boys, with pride and excitement.

In a (high school) world often divided between jocks and band nerds, Ferguson crossed over, because he approached his music almost as an athletic event.

We cheered Maynard as a gladiator, a combat soldier, a prize fighter, a circus strongman – choose your masculine archetype.

Maynard Ferguson plays a special solo trumpet piece as part of the closing ceremonies for the Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada, the XXI Olympiad, 1976.

[21] In 2000, he was given an Honorary Doctorate Degree by Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, and created the Maynard Ferguson Institute of Jazz Studies under the direction of Denis DiBlasio in their College of Performing Arts.

Maynard Ferguson band alumni regrouped for a memorial concert soon after his death, led by trumpeters Wayne Bergeron, Patrick Hession, and Eric Miyashiro.

[22] With Harry Belafonte With Buddy Bregman With Russ Garcia With Stan Kenton With Perez Prado With Shorty Rogers With Pete Rugolo With others