* En anglais uniquement
Pianist
David Maxwell has been a part of the Boston blues scene as a sideman since the late 1960s, but has only in the '90s begun leading his own band and recording under his own name.
Maxwell took some of his early stylistic cues from the likes of
Spann,
Sunnyland Slim and
Pinetop Perkins, also listening to the recordings of
Big Maceo,
Ray Charles and
Memphis Slim; he became friendly with
Muddy Waters' longtime piano player,
Otis Spann, in the late 1960s.
Maxwell went on to back many great players over the years, including
Freddie King, whom he worked with for two years in the early 1970s;
Bonnie Raitt, whom he worked with in 1974 and '75, while she was still based in Boston; and
James Cotton from 1977 to 1979. He toured Europe and Japan with
Otis Rush in the 1990s, and has performed over the years with dozens of others, including
John Lee Hooker,
Jimmy Rogers,
Paul Oscher,
Hubert Sumlin,
Bob Margolin,
John Primer and
Ronnie Earl. He has joined many of these same people on their studio efforts, including
Cotton for his 1997 Grammy-winning
Deep in the Blues.
Maxwell also can be heard on the soundtrack to the movie
Fried Green Tomatoes with longtime Boston musicians
Ronnie Earl and
Peter Wolf.
Maxwell's debut record for Tone-Cool, Maximum Blues Piano, is a collection of instrumental tunes that showcase many of the Boston scene's veteran players:
Ronnie Earl and
Duke Levine on guitars,
Kaz Kazanoff and Gordon Beadle on saxophones, drummer
Marty Richards and bassist
Marty Ballou. Echoes of all of his influences can be heard throughout the tracks, including
Pete Johnson on "Down at A.J.'s Place," and
Otis Spann on "Deep Into It." ~ Richard Skelly