Results for "Shawn Maxwell's Alliance"

Shawn Maxwell

Born: November 1, 1976

“This is bold music. Maxwell isn’t afraid to try out new ideas and take chances…” – Frank Alkyer, Downbeat Magazine

From his youth in the school music programs of Joliet, IL, through the Music B.A. program at

Millikin University, to 25 years of performing on the Chicago music scene and touring the United States, Shawn Maxwell has developed a unique voice on the saxophone.

“A spirited free-thinker and committed non-conformist” – Bill Milkowski (Millstream album notes)

From his first album of original compositions in 2005, to the 2026 release of his fourteenth album Frenetic Domain, he has forged a distinctive style of writing and arrangement. The traditions of jazz form the foundation for Shawn’s music; he builds on that with inspiration from the music he grew up with – rock, funk, hip hop, R&B, classical. Though his compositions have been compared to Frank Zappa, Philip Glass, the Canterbury Sound, and Bach…

Shawn Maxwell: Shawn Maxwell's Alliance

by Ben Scholz
March 1, 2015

Fronted by an already well-established Chicago area saxophonist, the Shawn Maxwell Alliance expands the concept of what a mixed ensemble can accomplish in the jazz realm. This debut album features a sprawling list of modern jazz composers and leaders including another Chicago saxophonist, Chris Greene, vocalist Keri Johnsrud, vibraphonist Stephen Lynerd, and bassist Stacy McMichael. The ...

Shawn Maxwell: Shawn Maxwell's Alliance

by Maurizio Zerbo
December 31, 2014

Musicista emergente del panorama jazzistico di Chicago, il contraltistaShawn Maxwell ha nel suo spettro espressivo un grande caleidoscopio di idee. Come il suo modello ispiratore (Frank Zappa), egli predilige una pratica musicale aleatoria che ha nell'indeterminatezza dei suoni e delle atmosfere la sua principale cifra distintiva. Questo suo CD per big band presenta una formazione atipica ...

Shawn Maxwell's Alliance

By Shawn Maxwell

Label: Chicago Session LTD.
Released: 2014
Track listing: Fun Five Funk; Lynes Crayons; EGOT; From Parts Unknown; Song For Something Else; Plaza; Waiting Food; Pistols N' Tulips; Bitty Bitty Beep; Quartan; Radio Hit Number Four; Here's Your Swing Tune; Little Ninja Groove; Perpetual Day One; Looking For Alex; Full Count; Shadowbox; You Alright? I Learned It By Watching You.

Shawn Maxwell's Alliance: Bridge

by Dan Bilawsky
December 27, 2014

The eponymous debut from Shawn Maxwell's Alliance was a giant step forward for the saxophonist/composer; his previous albums all had musical merit, but all were built with limited color schemes, hewing, for the most part, to jazz norms. With Shawn Maxwell's Alliance (Chicago Sessions, 2014), Maxwell stepped way outside the box, writing music for a dectet ...

Shawn Maxwell: Shawn Maxwell's Alliance

by Hrayr Attarian
March 16, 2014

Woodwind player and composer Shawn Maxwell's Shawn Maxwell's Alliance on the Chicago Sessions label is a carefully orchestrated suite with a subtle yet distinct dramatic sense. Although the description in the liner notes makes mention of a group of friends experimenting with new styles and sounds the disc is not a blowing date nor it is ...

Shawn Maxwell: Shawn Maxwell's Alliance

by Dan Bilawsky
February 28, 2014

In the liner notes for Shawn Maxwell's Alliance, the Chicago-based multi-reedist is transparent as can be. He makes note of the fact that this project was born out of a conscious desire to do something different and pull away from the commonplace quartet and quintet formats that are so prevalent today. He also notes that he ...