Max Cohen bio
The Shetland air “Da Slockit Light” by Tom Anderson. (From Max’s YouTube page.)
Max teaching the Old Songs Festival Great Groove Band of young musicians - 2009
Max Cohen’s natural humility belies his amazing talent. An accomplished guitarist, Max is capable of playing with tremendous sensitivity as well as driving rhythmic power. As an accompanist, his approach is appropriate for the music, and his attention to detail sets him apart from the herd. His original melodies shine with elegant simplicity and his spacious arrangements leave room for the listener. Dar Williams calls him “an endearing and inspiring performer. I love Max!” A natural teacher and the ultimate accompanist, Max finds himself an essential member of ensembles with fiddler Donna Hébert, singer Priscilla Herdman, music educator Brian Weilland and more. Inspired by guitar icons Michael Hedges, Alex DeGrassi, Pierre Bensusan and Pat Metheny as well as the hot traditional musicians he plays with, Max fuses fingerstyle artistry with solid groove.
Lisa Geiger photo
A guitar teacher based in Massachusetts, Max joins Groovemama at Old Songs and Philadelphia Folk Festivals to coach youth performances with the Great Groove Band. Max also teaches every summer at Old Songs Fiddle & Strings Camps in upstate NY. A songwriter with Kerrville honors, Max co-writes with Richard Berman, also composing instrumental music with Donna Hébert. His guitar CD In the Wood was released in 2010 and he and Donna release a new instrumental CD, Orange on Blue/Orange sur bleu, in Dec. 2011.
A studio musician, producer and digital editor, Max has worked in rock, children’s music, country, traditional folk and singer-songwriter genres. In the past two years, he’s released his own self-engineered and produced CD In the Wood and has also produced CDs for Richard Berman, Katherine First, Donna Hébert and his own Renaissance Faire band, the Misfits of Avalon.
Contact: Max Cohen
SOLO GUITAR RECORDINGS: In the Wood - 2010; Saltwater Color - 2007, 1993
DUO RECORDINGS: Orange on Blue – with Donna Hébert, 2011; Misfits of Avalon, 2009
GUEST PERFORMANCES: Dar Williams: Honesty Room; Richard Berman: Love, Work & Play, Holding Hands, Now and Then; Katherine First: Sweet Spot; Coyote Sisters; Donna Hébert: In Full Bloom, Mrs. McLeod’s Reel, Fiddlejam.
Max and Donna duo dates are listed on Donna’s Calendar.
