It’s a bit freaky to listen to an album that sounds like it spawns from a mature, seasoned jazz musician but is actually accomplished by a young, precocious kid. During a phone interview, Max Goldschmid comes across as a very collected, mature person. It is his musical ideas we are speaking of, which sound like they stem from someone who has been playing jazz for 30 years; the musician in question is in his senior year of high school.
Maximum Exposure was assembled to present the wide range of Max Goldschmid’s abilities; not just in his phrasing, but in his instrumentation. While he says he feels most comfortable on trumpet, Goldschmid’s work on the soprano, alto and tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet or trombone won’t give that away. Goldschmid also presents three of his own compositions on this recording: “Omar’s Enlightenment,” “Maximum Exposure” and “Apex.”
(Pictured below: Max Goldschmid, with his instruments. Photo by Steve Goldschmid)
The only thing tha
t might give away his development stage and age upon listening is his leanings toward pre-1960s jazz.
Goldschmid is, however, a monster of a talent for a high school senior, and we can expect to see him develop into an amazing player. It’s surprising to learn that he doesn’t listen to a lot of jazz. If this is the product of not listening to a lot of jazz, it makes one wonder what the result will be once he really starts digging into the massive archive of the genre's recordings and history.
Multi-instrumentalists seem always drawn to composition. Max is no exception to the rule. He says he hopes after high school to continue studying to be a composer. If his musical phrasing on his freshman release tells us anything, he has a lot of ideas to express.
We can also be glad that there is still an environment, a support network, where such talents are developed, especially in Tucson. The Tucson Jazz Institute, which is part of the Tucson Community Music School, continues to cultivate young aptitude. Max was part of the Tucson Jazz Institute ensemble that won the national 2010 Community Big Band Award in the Essentially Ellington competition adjudicated by Wynton Marsalis. Tucson isn’t exactly the first city you think of when you think of jazz, so this is quite an accomplishment.
Max Goldschmid performs with the Ellington Big Band on Sunday, December 11, 2pm at Berger Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Speedway Blvd. Tickets are $20, $15 for students and seniors. Maximum Exposure is available for purchase on the Tucson Community Music School web page, TucsonCommunityMusicSchool.com.
