fantastic album, as a ex recording engineer(cti records and electric lady studios), all i can say is that it sounded like it must of been a real pleasure to record this project, and i might add, that i wish i had been the engineer.. bravo fortissimo..
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I'm a "weekend warrior" blues pianist, someone who loves to play but has never attained true professional status. So for me, listening to David Maxwell play piano on this CD is like being a schoolyard basketball player watching Michael Jordan do a 360 degree slam dunk. What I hear in my head he makes real on the keys. Maximum Blues Piano shows great technique backed up by heart and soul and an encyclopedic knowledge and love of blues piano history. David Maxwell has played with many of the Chicago blues greats of the past couple of decades, an influence that shines throughout this CD. But he can also go further back into the history of the music and draw inspiration from boogie woogie legends Meade Lux Lewis and Jimmy Yancey on the rollicking "Honky Tonk Train," or conjure up memories of New Orleans piano greats like Professor Longhair and James Booker on the funky "Breakdown on the Bayou." "After Hours" and "Manhattan Max" show an appreciation of the jazzier side of the blues heritage, while "Sister Lee" and "Take Me On Home" have a smokey, soulful feel. The support from the rhythm section is solid, and Ronnie Earl and Duke Levine contribute some tasteful guitar lines, but there is no doubt that this is David Maxwell's show and he makes the most of it, swinging hard on every track. Mr. Maxwell is both an outstanding advocate of the tradition of legendary blues piano players like Otis Spann, Pinetop Perkins and Big Maceo and a vital and original artist in his own right. While many contemporary blues albums rely heavily on covers, here Mr. Maxwell exercises his compositional chops and gives us 9 out of 11 original tunes. And these are "originals" in the true sense of the word, not just recylced hooks with new titles.

Anyone who loves the blues, especially as pounded out on the 88s, should not hesitate to add Maximum Blues Piano to their CD collection.
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