While growing up, this Philly native would most likely be found in one of two places; skateboarding at Philadelphia's renowned Love Park by day, or sitting in at Ortliebs' Jazz Haus by night. Maxfield Gast brings a sweet sound and warm tone to the soprano and alto saxophone. He grew up studying jazz and classical music at Philadelphia's own Settlement Music School and continued his education post high school at Temple University where he received a BA of music in Jazz Performance. Along with the saxophone, Maxfield has a distinct voice on the EWI (electronic wind instrument) and performs regularly in NY with Wu Li, an extremely unique, horn-driven, funk rock band out of Brooklyn. Gast has performed in a wide variety of venues and festivals across the country including New York's Carnegie Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center; Philadelphia's Academy of Music; SXSW Festival in Austin, TX; Ottawa Bluesfest in Ontario; Creative Arts Center in New Orleans; and Milwaukee's Summerfest. Maxfield has performed with ensembles including Mike Boone's Bass Direct; Edgar Bateman's Truth; Soul Deep: An Anthology of Black Music featuring Adriane Lenox, Ryan Shaw and Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens; and has toured with several acts including an American Music Award winning band, the Bomb Squad.
Maxfield continues to compose and record his own music and performs regularly in New York and Philadelphia. _________________________________________________________________
Maxfield Gast’s Eat Your Beats is a combination of old-school instrumental hip hop, drum & bass, soul, and funk, mixed with flowing melodies, rich with harmony. Tracks vary from programmed drums to live drums with upright and electric bass, strings, and saxophone choirs. Along with this colorful foundation are multiple layers of EWI and plenty of brass to balance out the woodwinds. The album features ten songs, all original compositions. Eat Your Beats will be available for purchase on the internet in a few weeks; listed on Amazon, CDBaby, and iTunes.
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Personnel on Eat Your Beats includes Mike Pietrusko, drums; Tyler Lynch, bass; Adam Platt, piano; Ben Wright, bass; and Mike Shobe, trumpet. This album was recorded at Militia Hill in Philadelphia and Samurai Hotel in Brooklyn, NY. Eat Your Beats was engineered by Maxfield Gast, mixed by David Stoller at Samurai Hotel, and mastered by Kevin Blackler at Blackler Mastering in New York. Album artwork created by Jane Gast. Produced by Maxfield Gast at Militia Hill Records.
www.maxfieldgast.com
