Max Bennett (musician)

Max Bennett
Bennett in San Francisco, 1976.
Background information
Born(1928-05-24)May 24, 1928
Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
DiedSeptember 14, 2018(2018-09-14) (aged 90)
San Clemente, California, U.S.
GenresJazz
OccupationSession musician
InstrumentsBass guitar, double bass
Years active1949–2018
Label–
Formerly ofL.A. Express
Websitemaxbennett.com

Max Bennett (May 24, 1928 – September 14, 2018) was an American jazz bassist and session musician.

Early life

Bennett grew up in Kansas City, Missouri and Oskaloosa, Iowa, and went to college in Iowa.

Career

Bennett's first professional gig was with Herbie Fields in 1949, and following this he played with Georgie Auld, Terry Gibbs, and Charlie Ventura. He served in the Army during the Korean War from 1951 to 1953, and then played and recorded in the New York and Los Angeles jazz scenes with Stan Kenton, Charlie Mariano, the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, Frank Rosolino, Bill Holman, and others. During the mid-1950s, Bennett released three records under his own leadship for Bethlehem Records, a period when producer Creed Taylor was shifting the label's focus to jazz.

Bennett settled permanently in Los Angeles, where he did most of his work from the late 1950s onwards. In the Los Angeles area, he played regularly at the Lighthouse Cafe with his own ensemble, and as a studio musician and occasional touring musician, he with such vocalists as Barbra Streisand, Ella Fitzgerald, Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez during the 1960s and 1970s.[1]

As a Los Angeles-based studio musician, Bennett recorded with artists in traditional pop field such as Peggy Lee and Billy Eckstine, and with artists recording rock and roll and newer styles of popular music, like The Monkees, Frank Zappa and The 5th Dimension. Bennett often recorded with the group of musicians later known as The Wrecking Crew during the 1960s and 1970s. He began recording using the bass guitar during the 1960s (rather than the double bass on which he'd done most of his professional work during the 1950s). A widely-heard example of Bennett's electric bass playing is the 1976 theme from the Rocky movie soundtrack, "Gonna Fly Now".

In 1969, Bennett served as the principal bassist for Frank Zappa's Hot Rats project.[1] According to Bennett, "I was not familiar with Zappa’s music. Our paths never crossed. I was never a big fan of avant garde music in that sense. It was while I was working in the studio, what was it, 1967 [sic], I think? And I got a call from John Guerin. He said, ‘Get your stuff over to TTG’—that was in Hollywood—‘I got a double session for you with Frank Zappa.’ So we get there and we worked two double sessions for two nights. And that was the album, that was Hot Rats.”[2] He also played on subsequent Zappa albums such as Chunga's Revenge.[3] In 1976 Bennett performed the bassline of "Gonna Fly Now", the theme song from the movie Rocky, composed by Bill Conti.

His studio work also included bass on the 1969 Lalo Schifrin soundtrack to the 1968 film Bullitt as well as Greatest Science Fiction Hits Volumes 1-3 with Neil Norman & His Cosmic Orchestra.

In 1973, Guerin and Bennett joined Tom Scott's L.A. Express alongside Joe Sample and Larry Carlton.[2] After recording their eponymous debut album, the jazz fusion quintet served as the core band for Mitchell's Court and Spark (1974).[2] A subsequent iteration of the group (including guitarist Robben Ford and pianist Larry Nash) backed Mitchell on the live Miles of Aisles (1974)[2] and recorded two smooth jazz albums for Caribou Records following Scott's departure in 1976. After the band's dissolution, Bennett formed his own group, Freeway. He continued to perform with his last group, Private Reserve, until his death in 2018.[4][3]

Discography

As leader

  • Max Bennett Quintet (Bethlehem, 1955)
  • Max Bennett Sextet (Bethlehem, 1956)
  • Max Bennett Septet, Quartet & Trio (Bethlehem, 1956)
  • Max Bennett with Charlie Mariano (Bethlehem)
  • Interchange (Palo Alto, 1987) U.S. Top Contemporary Jazz #13
  • The Drifter (1987) U.S. Top Contemporary Jazz #21
  • Images (TBA, 1989)
  • Great Expectations (Chase Music, 1993)
  • Max Is the Factor (Fresh Sound, 2006)

As sideman

With Hoyt Axton

With Joan Baez

With Stephen Bishop

With Bobby Bland

  • His California Album (Dunhill, 1973)

With David Blue

  • Com'n Back for More (Asylum, 1975)

With Terence Boylan

  • Terence Boylan (Asylum, 1977)

With Elkie Brooks

With Vikki Carr

  • Ms. America (Columbia, 1973)

With Keith Carradine

With David Cassidy

With Ry Cooder

With Bob Cooper

With England Dan & John Ford Coley

With Bobby Darin

With The 5th Dimension

With Billy Eckstine

With Don Everly

  • Don Everly (Ode, 1971)

With José Feliciano

  • Just Wanna Rock 'n' Roll (RCA Victor, 1975)

With Four Tops

With Michael Franks

With The Friends of Distinction

With Art Garfunkel

With Bobbie Gentry

With Cyndi Grecco

With Henry Gross

  • Henry Gross (ABC Records, 1972)

With Arlo Guthrie

With George Harrison

With Johnny Hartman

With Jack Jones

  • Harbour (RCA Victor, 1974)
  • What I Did for Love (RCA Victor, 1975)

With Barbara Keith

  • Barbara Keith (Reprise, 1973)

With Raymond Louis Kennedy

  • Raymond Louis Kennedy (Cream, 1970)

With Stan Kenton

With Bill LaBounty

  • Promised Love (Curb Records, 1975)

With Peggy Lee

With Lori Lieberman

  • A Piece of Time (Capitol Records, 1974)

With Lulu

  • Lulu (Polydor Records, 1973)

With Barry Mann

  • Barry Mann (Casablanca Records, 1980)

With Bette Midler

With Joni Mitchell

With The Monkees

With Jack Montrose

With Walter Murphy

  • Rhapsody in Blue (Private Stock, 1977)

With Michael Nesmith

With Wayne Newton

  • Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast (Chelsea, 1972)
  • While We're Still Young (Chelsea, 1973)

With Jack Nitzsche

With Kenny Nolan

  • A Song Between Us (Polydor, 1978)

With Tom Pacheco

  • The Outsider (RCA Records, 1976)

With Austin Roberts

  • The Last Thing On My Mind (Chelsea, 1973)

With Howard Roberts

With Buffy Sainte-Marie

With Lalo Schifrin

With Frank Sinatra

With O. C. Smith

  • Together (Caribou, 1977)

With Otis Spann

With Suzanne Stevens

  • Crystal Carriage (Capitol, 1977)

With Barbra Streisand

With Jim Sullivan

With Gábor Szabó and Bob Thiele

With Mel Tormé

With Valdy

  • Country Man (Haida, 1972)
  • Landscapes (Haida, 1973)

With Frank Zappa

TV, film and motion picture soundtracks written by:

References

  1. ^ a b Chadbourne, Eugene. "Max Bennett Biography". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d Blackburn, Dave (September 12, 2011). "A Conversation with Max Bennett". jonimitchell.com. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  3. ^ a b "The Unbelievable True Story of the Wrecking Crew's Max Bennett". Observer.com. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  4. ^ Kohlhaase, Bill (30 November 1991). "Bennett Takes It to the Maxx". Los Angeles Times.
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