The backbone of a band is its music library. The Upbeat Swing Orchestra is
extremely fortunate and honored to be the conservator of the John
“Fergo” Ferguson Music Library.

“Fergo” was an Australian big band leader, composer, and arranger. When
Fergo wanted his big band to play a song, he did not locate and purchase
a chart. Instead, he went to a friend who is an avid record collector
with tens of thousands of records in his collection. (The friend, now
deceased, used the collection to host a radio show in Australia.) The
friend would provide Fergo with a recording of the most popular version
of the song, often on the original 78 RPM record. Fergo would then
repeatedly play the record, and listening carefully, transcribe the
chart as accurately as possible.

There are also a good number of charts in the library based on actual
scores printed during the Big Band Era. These scores are currently
undergoing restoration and preservation.