Maxwell 2.6.1

Ronnie Earl's Maxwell Street is named in honour of blues pianist and previous member of the Broadcasters David Maxwell and is a nod to Chicago's Maxwell Street where blues musicians gathered to play outside for the Sunday market crowds. It confirms Ronnie Earl's status as one of the most soulful blues/soul/jazz guitarists working today. Earl is a three-time Blues Award winner as Guitarist Of The Year working with his band of over 25 years. This album is dedicated to my big brother David Maxwell. We were born on the same day ten years apart. His playing was a deep as the ocean, as high as the sky and as bright as a quasar. When he passed I felt a huge loss as I still do.

With signs of a resurgence of interest in big bands in the late 1950s, Maxwell Davis came up with the idea of producing a series of albums for Crown Records recorded in the finest stereophonic sound, in a tribute to such legendary bandleaders as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, Woody Herman, Charlie Barnet and Stan Kenton, among others. For this purpose, he wrote all new arrangements and reimagined and conducted a number of tribute bands to perform the music with the signature spirit that made their original leaders famous. The personnel for each album consisted primarily of prominent members and soloists who performed with the original bands, with additional valuable contributions from some of the best jazz musicians working in the Hollywood and New York studios.