DAVID MAXWELL

                                       
              


                                     
                  

                       
          

David Maxwell (March 10, 1943– February 13, 2015) was an American blues pianist, songwriter, and singer.

Over his lengthy career, Maxwell variously worked with Louisiana Red, Muddy Waters, Skip James, Bonnie Raitt, John Lee Hooker, James Cotton, Levon Helm, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Rogers, Charlie Musselwhite, Johnny Adams, Ronnie Earl, Freddie King and Hubert Sumlin. He also released a number of albums under his own name. Maxwell was nominated for a Blues Music Award in 2015 in the 'Pinetop Perkins Piano Player' category, which was ultimately won by Marcia Ball.

David Maxwell was born in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. He was educated at the University of Rochester and Eastman School of Music.Maxwell became friends with Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson in high school, and they played together at several local engagements. Maxwell became part of the local blues scene in Boston, Massachusetts in the late 1960s, having been initially inspired by the piano styling of Otis Spann, Sunnyland Slim, Pinetop Perkins, Big Maceo Merriweather, Ray Charles and Memphis Slim. Maxwell also met and befriended Spann around this time.

In the early part of the 1970s, Maxwell came to the attention of the guitarist Freddie King, and supplied his piano accompaniment for a couple of years. He worked backing Bonnie Raitt in 1974 and 1975, and then James Cotton between 1977 and 1979 In the 1980s he returned to Boston and formed David Maxwell and the Blues Wizards.He later both toured and recorded with Otis Rush in the 1990s, having built up his reputation by further interim work with others including John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Rogers, Paul Oscher, Hubert Sumlin, Bob Margolin, John Primer and also Ronnie Earl (from 1990 to 1992).Maxwell played on Cotton's 1997 Grammy Award winning album, Deep in the Blues. Maxwell earlier performed on the soundtrack to the film, Fried Green Tomatoes (1991).

Maxwell released his debut solo work in 1997, when Maximum Blues Piano appeared on Tone-Cool Records, which included backing work by Ronnie Earl and Duke Levine on guitar. AllMusic noted that the largely instrumental album provided "Echoes of all of his influences can be heard throughout the tracks, including Pete Johnson on "Down at A.J.'s Place," and Otis Spann on "Deep Into It." His follow-up recording, Max Attack (2003), was re-released on 95 North Records in 2005.Maxwell appeared at the Ottawa Bluesfest in 2009.

Collaborative work with Louisiana Red and Otis Spann resulted in You Got to Move (2009) and Conversations in Blue (2010) respectively.Maxwell won Blues Music Awards in the 'best acoustic album' category for both these efforts,  and was nominated for another in 2015 in the 'Pinetop Perkins Piano Player' category.In what turned out to be his final recording, Blues in Other Colors (2012), received acclaim for the fusion of traditional blues using non-western instruments, along with elements of world music.

Maxwell died in Massachusetts General Hospital from prostate cancer in February 2015, aged 71.