Saxophonist and composer, Shawn Maxwell has spent more than two decades on the Chicago scene.
Interestingly enough, Maxwell didn’t get serious about saxophone or jazz until his years at Junior College when he was exposed to the works of Duke Ellington.
Since then, he has released over a dozen albums of original music, earning two DownBeat “Best Albums of the Year” recognitions, four Editor’s Picks, and charting positions on JazzWeek and CMJ.
His latest album, Frenetic Domain, features classical saxophonist, Chika Inoue. In it, he combines the world of classical and jazz saxophone, and leans directly into his early musical roots. Before becoming known as a jazz saxophonist, Maxwell was a classically trained clarinetist, and the project revisits that background in a fresh way.
The music blends fully written passages with open improvisation, allowing Inoue’s precise classical tone to frame Maxwell’s more exploratory playing alongside pianist Mark Nelson, a longtime collaborator of Maxwell’s.
The collaboration began as a joke. Maxwell and Inoue met through their work as Vandoren Artist Clinicians, where Maxwell half-teased the idea of recording together despite Inoue being firmly rooted in the classical world.
The idea stuck, and eventually became a project that sits somewhere between third-stream chamber jazz and modern ensemble writing.
⏯️ Watch Episode 267 now and discover how being different propelled Shawn Maxwell’s career:
⬇️ Find exactly what you’re looking for in the episode by using the timestamps below:
01:43:12 Upcoming projects/shows
- Website: https://shawnmaxwell.com/
- Bandcamp: https://shawnmaxwell.bandcamp.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shawnmaxwell
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshawnmaxwell/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/shawnmaxwell1976
- Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/shawn-maxwell/78604016
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