Tue, Dec 02 2008
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Published September 16, 2008 11:23 am - Max Bennett in a Peggy Lee video. 'I just went crazy over the sound' Max Bennett will bring his band, Max Bennett and Private Reserve, described as contemporary instrumental music, for one show at George Daily Auditorium Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Amber Whitlock will appear as a guest vocalist. And special guest Dan Carlin and Friends will also perform. By MICHAEL SCHAFFER The Oskaloosa Herald OSKALOOSA — Many people will go through life wondering what they should be, what they should do, but when 17-year-old Max Bennett first heard the contra bass, he had no doubt what he was going to become. It was V-J Day and Bennett was playing guitar in a high school dance band at the Bandstand in City Square Park. And then all of a sudden, he heard the sounds that would forever change his life. “And a gentleman came up from behind me and said that he had just moved to town, he was a bass player, would we mind if he sat in,” Bennett said. “And we never had a bass in the band. He stood right behind me and played and I just went crazy over the sound.” The next day, Bennett went to the high school orchestra, picked up the string bass, or four-on-the-floor, and has never looked back. Bennett eventually purchased that man’s string bass for $150, and in 1962, he purchased his first Leo Fender electric bass guitar. Bennett said as early as age 8 or 9 he was attracted to music, even though he had no idea what kind of music it was. “At that time it was probably a lot of big bands,” Bennett said. “I think one of my biggest influences was Duke Ellington’s band.” In the early 1940s, with the emergence of be-bop, Bennett was influenced by the likes of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. Bennett said he has never doubted his decision to pursue a career in music, even during the lean times. “You hear some musicians say, ‘Well, I’m going to try music for two or three years and then if that doesn’t work out, I’ll try something else,’” Bennett said. “That never occurs to a real musician.” Born May 24, 1928, in Des Moines, the Bennetts moved from New Sharon to Oskaloosa when he was 2 or 3. Bennett has a brother, George, who attended West Point, and a sister, Mary. Bennett, who graduated from Oskaloosa High School in 1946, said he remembers how lively the city was in the ‘40s. “One of my most vivid memories I have, is how vibrant the town was as I was growing up through the years,” Bennett said. “There was a lot of activity.” Bennett, who is married, moved to San Clemente, Calif., in 1981. He formed his band, Max Bennett and Private Reserve, in 1984. Together they have released five CD’s while touring the United States. The internationally known bassist and composer describes the band’s sound as contemporary instrumental music that blends the best of contemporary concepts with the richness of jazz, blues, rock and Latin music. “Contemporary jazz, but definitely not smooth jazz,” Bennett said. “The difference between the two is that smooth jazz masquerades as jazz, but really has no intrinsic value.” Smooth jazz, in the vein of Kenny G, is repetitious, mundane with very few solos and doesn’t qualify as jazz, Bennett said. 
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