As a student, he studied with George Barnes, Lenny Breau, David Tanenbaum, and José Rey de la Torre.

He received a Master of Fine Arts degree[20] in Performance and Literature from Mills College and wrote his thesis on Darius Milhaud.

He has written for The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz,[22] and edited several volumes for Guitar Solo Publications of San Francisco, including an instructional series on the works of Fernando Sor, Leo Brouwer, and Matteo Carcassi, and Federico Moreno Torroba's Castillos de España.

The notes include a biography of Montgomery by Ferguson and interviews with Nat Adderley, Ron Carter, Kenny Burrell, John Scofield, and Tommy Flanagan.

[25] Tracks from Cedar & Silver such as "Aurora" and "Blanca" have been licensed by A&E, ABC, PBS, Spike TV, and MTV India.

[6] Other published works by Ferguson include Film Noir—Four Scenes,[9] "Requiem for a Fallen Artist",[11] Four Monsters,[10] 12 Semi-Simple Jazzy Studies,[14] "Winedark Sea",[12] and Jazzotica.