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 with Stan Kenton before moving to Los Angeles. There he played regularly at the Lighthouse Cafe with his own ensemble, and played behind such vocalists as Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez [ Elkie Brooks ] through the 1970s. He also recorded with Charlie Mariano, Conte Candoli, Bob Cooper, Bill Holman, Stan Levey, Lou Levy, Coleman Hawkins and Jack 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 with The Wrecking Crew, he performed on many records by The Monkees and The Partridge Family. In 1969, Bennett served as the principal bassist for Frank Zappa's Hot Rats project. 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.” He also played on subsequent Zappa albums such as Chunga's Revenge. 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. After recording their eponymous debut album, the jazz fusion quintet served as the core band for Mitchell's Court and Spark (1974). A subsequent iteration of the group (including guitarist Robben Ford and pianist Larry Nash) backed Mitchell on the live Miles of Aisles (1974) 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.

Discography

As leader

As sideman

With Hoyt Axton With Joan Baez With Stephen Bishop With Bobby Bland With David Blue With Terence Boylan With Elkie Brooks With Vikki Carr 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 Don Everly With José Feliciano With Four Tops With Michael Franks With The Friends of Distinction With Art Garfunkel With Bobbie Gentry With Cyndi Grecco With Henry Gross With Arlo Guthrie With George Harrison With Johnny Hartman With Jack Jones With Barbara Keith With Raymond Louis Kennedy With Stan Kenton With Bill LaBounty With Peggy Lee With Lori Lieberman With Lulu With Barry Mann With Bette Midler With Joni Mitchell With The Monkees With Jack Montrose With Walter Murphy With Michael Nesmith With Wayne Newton With Jack Nitzsche With Kenny Nolan With Tom Pacheco With Austin Roberts With Howard Roberts With Buffy Sainte-Marie With Lalo Schifrin With Frank Sinatra With O. C. Smith With Otis Spann With Suzanne Stevens With Barbra Streisand With Jim Sullivan With Gábor Szabó and Bob Thiele With Valdy With Frank Zappa TV, film and motion picture soundtracks written by: