A ​Musical Tribute To A Living Bass Legend, Max Bennett

The Laguna Concert Band is honored to have had the opportunity to collaborate with this living legend to help raise support for our local schools.

OUR band and Max played with some special friends for this extraordinary evening of music, art, friends, celebrity appearances and great food and drink featuring our Swing Band, 'SwingSet of Laguna' performing custom arrangements of Max’s Grammy Winning hits with Max's band 'Private Reserve‘! ​ Featuring Max Bennett & Special Guests - Greg Adams (Tower of Power), Robin Adler-Vocals, Tony Guerrero-Trumpet, Leslie Page-Vocals,Amber Whitlock-Vocals, and Chris Williams-Vocals

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Stu News Article​

*Proceeds from this event support the Laguna Concert Band’s efforts to bring music programs into local schools in Orange County through specialized music clinics, summer programs, yearly scholarships, instrument loans to deserving children and provide them with a positive musical learning experience. The Laguna Concert Band is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and is a tax-exempt organization under IRS Section 501(c)(3). Tax ID number is 33-0930625.

Max Bennett was a God to most of us in the Wrecking Crew. We were Jazz, Pop and Country pickers that luckily fell into the rock scene when it began in about 1957… We were mostly bar room and nite club casual players; I call them “Casualties”! Max was a bona fide jazz player and working with him was inspirational to me and so many other new comers to the L.A. studio scene. Max also became a major player in our little wrecking crew, always with a smile and a helping hand. A beautiful player and a beautiful person… My career was blessed by what I learned from Max… - Hal Blaine, American drummer and session musician

Max Bennett Bio

Fans and followers of contemporary jazz need no introduction to Max Bennett. An internationally known bassist and composer, the scope of his experience spans from concert touring, recording and producing to composing music for feature films and television. Max has toured and performed in concert with Ella Fitzgerald, Joni Mitchell, Barbra Streisand, Peggy Lee and Aretha Franklin, a list that literally runs from Frank Sinatra to Frank Zappa and includes jazz greats Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Stan Getz and Dizzy Gillespie. The list of outstanding artists with whom Max has recorded includes Quincy Jones, The Beach Boys, Elvis, Joni Mitchell, Marvin Gaye, Frank Zappa, Motown Artists, Celine Dion, Nelson Riddle, Henry Mancini, Ray Charles, Michael Franks, Frank Sinatra, Phil Spector, Michel Legrand, Lalo Schifrin, The Crusaders and countless others.

​His many years of working in the studios resulted playing on 19 Grammy winning albums and have given him the opportunity to exercise his affinity for jazz, blues, rock and Latin music and to combine those elements into his music. He created a new concept of jazz in the world-renowned L.A. Express that included Joe Sample, Larry Carlton and John Guerin, under the leadership of Tom Scott. Max then formed his own group “Freeway" and currently heads his most recent band "Private Reserve".

Bill Kohlhasse of the Los Angeles Times says, “Max Bennett is the genuine article himself, having come up through the "bebop" era to become a central figure in the contemporary jazz scene". "Private Reserve" represents the best of contemporary concepts and Max's compositions blend the richness of jazz, blues, rock and Latin music. Max says,” We feel that people identify with our strong melodies, rich harmonic structures and diverse rhythmic concepts. It is our goal to create original music of substance and intrinsic value.”

​“In the kingdom of electric bass, the groove is king! And few groove as deeply as Max Bennett. The reason? Probably that Bennett has had more experience than most in the electric bass fraternity. As a founding member of L A Express--which included the likes of Tom Scott, Joe Sample and Larry Carlton -- he was one of the prime movers of the West Coast fusion movement. Bennett’s recording is a solid one! Fans who have been turned off by the predictability and singsong commercial themes of current-day contemporary jazz would do well to check out “Great Expectations.” It holds the artistic promise that much of the contemporary jazz movement has betrayed!” - Excerpt from LA Times, By Columnist Bill Kohlhasse

Max Bennett Band

​Max's current band, "Private Reserve" represents the best of contemporary concepts and Max's compositions blend the richness of jazz, blues, rock and latin music. Max says, "We feel that people identify with our strong melodies, rich harmonic structures and diverse rhythmic concepts. It is our goal to create original music of substance and intrinsic value".

Rob Whitlock – Keyboards/Arrangements
The Jazz Crusaders, A.J. Croce, Walela, Wayne Johnson, Pat Kelley, The Dazz Band, Kathie Lee Gifford, Fatburger
Jeff Jorgenson – Saxophones
Trishia Yearwood, Andrew Carney, Charles Rutherford, Bill Medley, Wayne Boyer
Tony Moore - Drums
Gerald Albright, Bobby Lyle, Boney James, Jeff Lorber, Michael Lington, Paul Taylor, Everette Harp, Doc Powell
Mike Miller - Guitar
Chick Corea, George Duke, Vinnie Colaiuta, Yellowjackets, Brand X, Bette Midler, Peter Erskine, Gino Vanelli, Boz Skaggs

SwingSet of Laguna

One of the hottest swing bands in Southern California, the "SwingSet of Laguna", led by Gary Gould, and featuring Ginger Hatfield, vocals is an 18 piece Swing / Jazz band that has performed with local favorites and celebrated international Jazz and Pop Artist all over Southern California from Festivals, Theaters, Outdoor Concerts to Film soundtrack recording sessions at Capitol Records, Hollywood.
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The Swing Set of Laguna is a subset of the Laguna Concert Band that performs Swing, Big Band and Dance tunes in and around beautiful Laguna Beach California that will make you want to get up and dance to the sounds of Glen Miller, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Tommy Dorsey and a few of their own arrangements of great American Swing and Jazz classics.

Laguna Beach native Ginger Hatfield has performed on every stage in Laguna Beach. She has lent her voice to SwingSet’s favorite standards while adding her own local spin to classic lyrics.

Listen to audio and view videos of SwingSet of Laguna...
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Max Bennett Interviews/Articles

NAMM - Oral History Video Interview
Max Bennett is among the jazz world’s most percussive bass players. With a strong knowledge of drums, he explored and helped design the rhythm of jazz of the 1970s and 80s in the pre soft jazz era, a style he refers to as cool-whip. With his group, LA Express, he was able to showcase his own compositions and intertwine his artistic creativity within the bass parts, which helped drive the rhythm of the song as much as the drum part. His many contributions to the music products industry include being an endorser for MTD Guitars. - 11/29/07

The Unbelievable True Story of the Wrecking Crew’s Max Bennett
​In the category of minimalist torch—if there is such a category--“Fever” by Peggy Lee has to be the assumed pinnacle of the form. Ms. Lee’s voice, accompanied by little more than a creeping bass line and snapping fingers, captures not only a genre of music, but a specific milieu in a specific era in American life, where cocktail glasses clink, eyebrows raise, and pent-up prosperity percolates insistently in the body politic. The song is feral, assertive, and unrelenting, and an unequivocal classic. By Patrick Daly • 04/26/16
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A Conversation with Max Bennett by Dave Blackburn
Max Bennett is perhaps the most recorded bass player in the world, having recorded every year for 63 years, and counting. His work with Joni Mitchell (1974-77) represents a small portion of his vast discography; he has, over the decades, worked with a broad range of artists ranging from Billie Holliday to Frank Zappa, Mel Tormé to The Monkees. By Dave Blackburn, JoniMitchell.com

An Interview with legendary bass player Max Bennett: Play what you believe in at every opportunity
​Fans and followers of contemporary jazz need no introduction to Max Bennett. An internationally known bassist and composer, the scope of his experience spans from concert touring, recording and producing to composing music for feature films and television. Posted by Michalis Limnios BLUES @ GREECE

Peggy Sets a Feverish Pace
"About November of last year, bass player Max Bennett came to Peggy and said he wanted her to hear a song, a real bang-away rock ‘n’ roll version of "Fever" – but which he said had a great bass line, that basic roadbed upon which a song is built." By Don Bailer, New York Mirror, August 20, 1958 Listen on Spotify

"Legendary Bassist Max Bennett with the Jazzier side of Blues"
​Max talks about his session days and live performances with some of the greats of our time like, Tom Scott and the LA Express, Joni Mitchell, Frank Zappa, Ella Fitzgerald and many, many more. I’m also playing that music and a song him and I did this year that he wrote.
Laguna Blues w/"Big Daddy" Williams, Podcast on KX 93.5 FM

Max Bennett Website
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