Connecticut-based four-piece Stanley Maxwell plays original
music that blends (among many other influences) jazz, funk and rock
with tight arrangements and intricate group improvisations. They
are a no-nonsense, conservatory-trained group of musicians who share
a love for playing soulful music together and making people dance.
The band has built a grassroots name for themselves throughout the
Northeast since 2001, and joined the Home
Grown Music Network in 2008. From colleges
to festivals, the group is a “must see” experience. Aesthetically,
they combine both the virtuosic and the simple into a visceral concoction.
Stanley Maxwell’s independently-produced debut album Don't
Wake The Baby! was recorded in Bristol, CT by Dan Silvia of
Hillgrove Recording (a company
based in West Roxbury, MA) and mastered by Anthony Lattarulo of
the LattKave Recording Studio in
Yonkers, NY. The album included Mousetrap, an eleven-bar blues
influenced by Thelonious Monk. The band’s recording of the
composition by pianist Evan
Green attracted international attention including:
- Mousetrap winning "Best Jazz
Song" in the 7th Annual Independent
Music Awards (December 2007), an international program that
helps indie artists and releases overcome mainstream obstacles
and reach wider audiences by providing year-long promotion, marketing
and distribution opportunities that place those selected in front
of more than 15 million music fans and industry decision makers
around the world.
- Winning the
Relix Magazine November 2007 "JamOff" contest for
unsigned artists, with Mousetrap featured on the November
Relix CD sampler, included with over 100,000 issues of the internationally
distributed magazine, dedicated to jam bands and improvisational
music.
Notable Stanley Maxwell performances and events include:
- Featured performances at annual festivals
and prestigious venues including
- Adirondack Music
Festival (New York, 2004)
- The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts
- The Connecticut Forum (2005)
- Mixed Bag Concert Series (2003)
- Ha! Ha! Hartford (2003)
- Clinton Art and Music Festival (New York, 2008)
- Connecticut Film Festival (2010)
- Connecticut Historical Society Museum for Connecticut Brewfest (2004)
- Dfest (Diversafest - Oklahoma, 2008)
- First Night Hartford (2008, 2007,2005,2002)
- Hartford
Advocate’s Grand Band Slam (Performances in 2010, 2008, 2007, 2003; Winner - “Best
Jazz Band” in 2010, 2009 and 2007 Readers’ Polls; 2008
Nominations for "Best Jazz" and "Best Funk/Fusion," 2003 Nomination for Best R&B)
- ING Hartford Marathon (2009, 2008)
- Jonathan Edwards Winery Summer
Nights Music Series (2004)
- New Haven Jazz
Festival at the Pilot Pen Tennis Tournament (2004)
- Northeast Kingdom
Music Festival (Vermont, 2004)
- Old State House
- SoNo Arts Celebration (2004)
- Taste of The Litchfield Hills (2008)
- College
tours including Brandeis University, Bryant College, Colby
Sawyer College, Curry College, Fairfield
University, Framingham State, Maine Maritime Academy, University
of Massachusetts, Vassar
College, Williams College, and Yale
University;
- Weekly residencies at the free outdoor summer concert series "Jammin' on Jim Brook" in the Ben & Jerry's Courtyard at the open-air shopping destination the Shoppes at Farmington Valley in Canton (2013, 2012, 2011, 2010); the upscale Zen
Bar in Farmington (2004); the trendy Backroom
Lounge @ Bottega in New Haven (2004, 2003); and the New York City comedy show "Stand-Up Stew" in Chelsea (2002);
- Chosen out of thousands of acts to showcase at the Northeast
Regional Conference of NACA
(National Association of Campus Activities) in Marlboro, Massachusetts
(2002).
- Selection as the band to play for thousands at the ESPN X-Trials at Lake Compounce Amusement
Park (2001);
- Honored for their support of benefit concerts including the annual "Wish You Were Here" events for the AJR Nocera Memorial Foundation (2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009); Common Ground's "Feast from the Fields" in New Haven (2014, 2013); Haitian Relief Show at Freight Street Gallery (2010); Riverview Hospital for Children and Youth at the Green Street Arts Center (2008); and the National Spinal Chord Injury Association (2002, 2001);
As well as memorable shows with artists including Addison Groove Project, The Breakfast, The Charlie Hunter Trio, DJ
Le Spam & The Spam Allstars, Cyro
Baptista & Beat The Donkey, The
Disco Biscuits, Dub
Is A Weapon, Fred Wesley & The New JBs, Hypnotic
Clambake, Jacob
Fred Jazz Odyssey, members of Max Creek, moe., Mountain of Venus, The New Deal, Raisinhill, The
Roots, Ryan Montbleau, Seth Yacovone, Sam Kininger, Todd Clouser's "A Love Electric," and Zappa
Plays Zappa.
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