I got the opportunity to go backstage at Boston Symphony Hall and hang out with Chick before his concert recently. Then he invited me to his private green room with a piano. We were alone, so I asked him if I could play him my composition called Gran Via, a flamenco jazz fusion tune, based on my time in Valencia, Spain. He liked it so...
I had the honor of being asked by Rebal to play in his band for a concert at Bancaja Fundacíon in Valencia. We played swinging Jazz Middle Eastern and classical music fusion. Rebal has a growing following for his blend of Syrian, Iraqi, Moroccan, Sephardic and Arabic original tunes. One of my favorite pieces of the evening was our original arrangement of “Erbarme dich, mein...
This is going to be my favorite semester at Berklee College of Music. It’s not just because I’m getting into singing and songwriting, but because I have a lot more time to collaborate with other artists, while expanding my abilities into other genres. I’m able to graduate a year early because of all the credits I’m accumulated through testing out, dual enrollment credits I earned...
On August 16, I gave a TED talk at the Trip Advisor global headquarters in Massachusetts. There was an audience of about 800 people, although the main audience for a TED talk is the hundreds of thousands or even millions of people who love to watch TED talks. This particular talk was part of the regional TEDx Beacon Street New England organization. My talk was...
I’m currently in my 4th semester at Berklee, after completing 49 credits in semester 1. I’m taking 12 classes this term, looking forward to getting deeper into improvisation with Kenny Werner, and taking production, groove writing and arranging classes, among others. Those are my favorites. Here’s a video of me completely improvising a classical piece in one of the Berklee practice rooms on campus.
2016 has been a great year! Just completed my 1st semester at Berklee College of Music and am now entering my 4th semester after getting credit for college courses previously taken in high school, plus testing out of a bunch of classes. Here are some compositions I wrote this past year. I’ve compiled them into an album called SWEDEN SONGS. Check them out: MaxHolm.Bandcamp.Com
Original composition, THE CANTLEBARY SONG. Applied for US Copyright license, case #1-3309674321. Composed and arranged by Max Holm. Performed by Max Holm and the Brubeck Jazz Quartet 2015-16: Max Holm, piano; Tim Angulo, drums; Emmett Sher, guitar; Zane DeBord, bass. Free download at BandCamp.
Here’s a recent studio recording of my original composition, THE COMING 2015 Copyright #: 1-2916027901 Performed by the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quartet Max Holm – Piano Emmett Sher – Guitar Zane DeBord – Bass Timothy Angulo – Drums
On the last night of the 2015 Brubeck Festival, I debuted my original composition, The Coming, performed by me and my bandmates in the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet. Take a listen here and tell me what you think.