Max Bennett (musician)

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

Max Bennett
Bennett in San Francisco, 1976.
Background information
Born	(1928-05-24)May 24, 1928 Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
Died	September 14, 2018(2018-09-14) (aged 90) San Clemente, California, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupation	Session musician
Instrument(s)	Bass guitar,double bass
Years active	1949–2018
Labels	–
Formerly of	L.A. Express

Website	maxbennett.com

Early life

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Bennett grew up inKansas City, Missouri andOskaloosa, Iowa, and went to college in Iowa.

Career

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Bennett's first professional gig was withHerbie Fields in 1949, and following this he played withGeorgie Auld,Terry Gibbs, andCharlie Ventura. He served in theArmy during theKorean War from 1951 to 1953, and then played withStan Kenton before moving to Los Angeles. There he played regularly at theLighthouse Cafe with his own ensemble, and played behind such vocalists asPeggy Lee,Ella Fitzgerald,Joni Mitchell andJoan Baez [ Elkie Brooks ] through the 1970s.^[1] He also recorded withCharlie Mariano,Conte Candoli,Bob Cooper,Bill Holman,Stan Levey,Lou Levy,Coleman Hawkins andJack Montrose.

Bennett recorded under his own name from the late 1950s and did extensive work as a composer and studio musician in addition to jazz playing. Often associated withThe Wrecking Crew, he performed on many records byThe Monkees andThe Partridge Family.

In 1969, Bennett served as the principal bassist forFrank Zappa'sHot 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 fromJohn 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 wasHot Rats.”^[2] He also played on subsequent Zappa albums such asChunga's Revenge.^[3]

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

In 1973, Guerin and Bennett joinedTom Scott'sL.A. Express alongsideJoe Sample andLarry Carlton.^[2] After recording their eponymous debut album, thejazz fusion quintet served as the core band for Mitchell'sCourt and Spark (1974).^[2] A subsequent iteration of the group (including guitaristRobben Ford and pianist Larry Nash) backed Mitchell on the liveMiles of Aisles (1974)^[2] and recorded twosmooth jazz albums forCaribou 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]