Max Light

Biography
Articles

Max Light: Unlearning

Read "Unlearning" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
November 8, 2026

Proving he is much more than just a talented guitarist, Max Light's latest effort, Unlearning, carries a great deal of emotional weight in addition to displaying his prodigious technique. Dedicated to his father, distinguished professor Paul Light, the album's concept concerns the elusive nature of memory and the challenges of disorientation when it no longer reliably anchors us. With recurring fragments of melody and subtle rhythmic shifts throughout, Light's compositions powerfully convey a sense of dislocation, yet there is a ...

Radio & Podcasts

New Music from Max Light And More

by Bob Osborne
November 5, 2026

Telepathic interplay between musicians is a common theme in this selection of tracks from mostly new releases. Whether it is on written material or pure improvisation the interaction by both seasoned professionals and younger faces on the scene is demonstrated clearly in this exciting playlist.Playlist Max Light “Talking To You" from Unlearning (Chill Tone Records) 00:00 Joey DeFrancesco “Vibrations In Blue" from Live At Keystone Korner (Mack Avenue Records) 08:14 Charged Particles with Tod Dickow, Special Guest Randy ...

Album Review

Kevin Sun: Kevin Sun, I.

Read "Kevin Sun, I." reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
September 15, 2026

New York-based saxophonist Kevin Sun went deep into the concept of memory in his The Sustain of Memory (2020) and The Depths of Memory (2023), both on his Endectopmorph Records. The first half of his 2026 project, Kevin Sun, I goes deep into...Kevin Sun? Sun takes his inspiration from seemingly everywhere: video games, sitting on hold waiting for service from the IRS phone system (track 6, “Hold Music"), John Coltrane ( track 1, “Go In"), Ryuichi Sakamoto, heavy ...

Album Review

Kaisa Mäensivu: Moving Parts

Read "Moving Parts" reviewed by Vincenzo Roggero

by Vincenzo Roggero
August 8, 2025

Di origine finlandese, da tempo residente a New York, la contrabbassista e compositrice Kaisa Maensivu fonda l'ensemble denominato Kaisa's Machine nel 2015 e, dopo l'album di esordio nel lontano 2017, approda alla prestigiosa Greenleaf di Dave Douglas nel 2023 con Taking Shape ed ora con il recentissimo Moving Parts. Nel corso degli anni e talvolta durante lo stesso tour Kaisa's Machine ha variato formazione e musicisti ma, come ben dimostra il quintetto dell'album in questione, senza mai perdere ...

Album Review

Kaisa's Machine: Moving Parts

Read "Moving Parts" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
April 19, 2025

On the third release with her trusted ensemble, Kaisa's Machine, rising star Kaisa Mäensivu displays a mature compositional voice, creating seven beguiling tracks that make excellent use of her superb colleagues. The Finnish bassist has for some years split her time between Helsinki and New York City, and the album's concept is loosely centered on the challenges and opportunities of bilocation--but the music itself is remarkably cohesive and taut, with a group dynamic that indeed reflects machine-like precision, even if ...

Album Review

Kaisa's Machine: Moving Parts

Read "Moving Parts" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic

by Mike Jurkovic
April 18, 2025

Let us play an enormously simple game: Name three bands or three albums of any musical conglomerate --jazz, hop, bop, rock, neo-ethical bluegrass--whose legendary sobriquet was the absolute definition of the sound, soul, and propriety of the band. The peanut gallery erupts--Led Zeppelin, Live at the Vanguard Flatt and Scruggs, A Love Supreme Add Finnish-born bassist/composer turned fiery New York jazzer, Kaisa Mäensivu and her on-all-cylinders Machine to the list. Moving Parts hits the sweet spot. Centering around Mäensivu's ...

Album Review

Remy Le Boeuf: Heartland Radio

Read "Heartland Radio" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
October 21, 2024

Nel 2022 Remy Le Boeuf s'è trasferito da New York a Denver per dirigere il dipartimento “Jazz and Commercial Studies" presso la Lamont School of Music della locale università. La colonna sonora di quel lungo viaggio in autostrada è stata la musica delle radio che alternavano pop, rock, rhythm & blues, country, dance ed altro. “Non c'è molto jazz in mezzo al Paese" ha ricordato l'orchestratore e sassofonista ma la musica di quest'album (che riflette le emozioni di quell'itinerario) ...