Endorsements
Endorsements
Barnard Instrument Repair
“There is nothing more personal to a musician than their instruments. When issues arise, I truly find comfort in knowing that my horns are in the hands of Aaron Barnard. Aaron is a master of the art, whether it be routine maintenance or a complete restoration, and his care and attention to detail are irreplaceable.”
Selmer Paris Saxophones
“My parents bought me my first Mark VI when I was 12 and I’m still playing that horn. Nothing plays like a Selmer. The substance of the tone along with the ease and comfort is home. From sopranino to low A bari and everything in between, they are all great. It is a privilege to be part of the Selmer family alongside saxophone giants like John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, and Dick Oatts. Selmer is my sound.”
Silverstein Works Ligatures
“Ligatures are not all created equal. The unique design of Silverstein ligatures delivers a resonance that no other ligature can compete with. After hearing the difference, there's no going back to traditional ligs!”
Navarro Saxophone Products
“Rafael Navarro’s line of custom saxophone mouthpieces is as good as it gets. His mouthpieces are incredibly linear from top to bottom and excel in both live performance settings as well as recording in the studio. I can’t imagine playing without them.”
Gast plays a custom Navarro Maestra on tenor, alto, and soprano saxophones.
what people are saying
what people are saying
“Maxfield Gast: Ogopogo (2015, Militia Hill): Saxophonist from Philadelphia. I file him under ‘jazz-pop’ which is ever more off-base, but he likes synth-beats and EWI -- were it not for the saxes I'd move him to ‘techno.’ This is mostly electronica with commentary, including digressions on the differences between ‘serious" and ‘funny’ music. Of course, the world isn't that simple, nor, fortunately, is Gast's music. B+(**) [cd]”
Tom Hull - Village Voice
“Philadelphia’s Work Drugs celebrate two years as a group with their latest single Young Lungs proclaiming to be your favorite while indulging you to ‘drink up’ their pop arrogances. In excerpts from a Work Drugs’ 2 year anniversary release, Ben Louisiana and Tom Crystal state, ‘We were hoping to wait till 2013 to put this song up, but with the impending apocalypse we figured we'd put it out a few days early.’
El Segundo gets a shout out as does Los Angeles, as Ben and Tom bring Philly brotherly love and keyboard conceits to the western empire of angels and demons. ‘LAX is splitting the ozone, young lungs still burn.’ The metronome synths and unabashed lyrical gushing of self-assertions make this song more than a best-new-track, ‘asterisk in your story book.’ And if all this were not enough to ward off the bummer vibes of doomsday, Maxfield Gast takes it to the next level with his blaring sax tone that that stirs up new emotion while displacing point in time references of audio recognition.”
Sjimon Gompers - Impose Magazine
Image courtesy of moviepilot.com
“Both Back and Model prominently feature another of Louie’s best assets – the music by Matt Kilmer and SweetPro. From the premiere’s opening standup, underscored by jazzy solo saxophone, to the garbage men sequence, with its upbeat combo sound, to the second episode’s relaxing French bossa nova throughline, Kilmer continues his fantastic work on the series, complimenting Louie’s easy feel while leaving plenty of space for C.K. to play with. It’s a partnership that got stronger throughout season three and it’s great to see this element back in fine form for season four. If Louie is as consistent this season as it’s been in the past, and these two episodes are an indication of where it’s headed, TV fans are in for another amazing, refreshing season of comedy.”
Kate Kulzick - soundonsight.org
“And that music might have been the best fake ’70s rock ever put to tape. Scarily accurate tributes to the stoner-approved sounds of Clapton, Floyd, Blue Öyster Cult, Van Halen, and Zep. A few times I had to snap my focus from the scene to the song to see if C.K. actually licensed a ’70s slammer. But nope, it was just Louie music director Matt Kilmer and his band, SweetPro, as always. They manage to outdo themselves more or less every week. Louie should have soundtracks out on CD. Let’s make it happen.”
Zach Dionne - grantland.com
“Maxfield Gast has played saxophone on recordings with Philly jazzbos (Puzzlebox), ska heads (Public Service!) and elegant world musicians (Bebek). None of those things prepare you for what a clear and concise ax man he is — possessing a richly snake-charming tone reminiscent of a sexier Paul Desmond whether on alto, soprano or tenor sax. Even when Gast expressed himself through taut improvisations on his wonky electro-funk debut Eat Your Beats, you didn't quite grasp what a cutting sense of dynamics and spirit he had. Side by Side, the first recording from his Trio (Brian Howell on upright bass, Mike Pietrusko on drums) remedies that. Filled with self-penned, self-produced tracks, Side by Side plays it cool and straight in calming post-bop fashion.”
A.D. Amorosi - Philadelphia City Paper
“これまでファンクやアシッド系ジャズ畑で活躍してきたサックス奏者Maxfield Gastが、録音した 本格的ジャズ・アルバム。 バラードでは、ポール・デスモンドのようなまろやかなトーンで、アップテンポになるとブラン フォード・マルサリスやケニー・ギャレットを彷彿させる畳みかけるフレーズがなかなか聴かせ ます。
知られざるサックスものに目がないコアなファンの方にお薦め!”
“An authentic jazz album recorded saxophone player Maxfield Gast has been active with funk and acid based jazz field so far. I hear phrases reminiscent of Blanc Ford, Branford Marsalis, Kenny Garrett, in the mellow tones of Paul Desmond in the ballads.
Recommended for hardcore fans who have a passion for something new!”
Vento Azul, Japan
“Here’s a debut recording by someone who’s got A LOT of interesting ideas. Maxfield Gast plays the sax, EWI, trumpet and keyboards, and meets up with a funk-laced band (Mike Pietrusko/dr, Tyler Lynch/b, Adam Platt/p, Ben Wright/b Mike Shobe/tp) on a set of ten tunes that, while imbibing the hop hop groove, mixes eclectic elements that are quite impressive. Some of the tunes like Death Bear have some rich sax section sounds that are reminiscent of Ellington, while Micro Zenith has some operatic samplings that will grab your attention. There’s enough funk on tunes like Ham Radio to get you strutting your stuff as well, but it rises well above the normal gloss, with so many interesting ideas flying around.”
George Harris - Jazz Weekly
“This colorfully packaged CD belies the funkiness within. This horn-led funky electronic/jazz/drum&bass/chill amalgamation of groove and phat licks is tasty from start to finish. Although at 29 minutes, I have one complaint: it's a lot like Chinese food, in 20 minutes I want another helping. This is fun, this cool, this is hip. Maxfield Gast, you can eat my beats anytime.”
Noah Peterson - KPSU
“With a trumpet and saxophone as the lead instruments, Wu Li may be snap labeled as jazz or ska. But describing this Brooklyn-based group as jazz, ska or even funk is totally insufficient. They are all of these things, along with straight-up rock, electronica, Latin and R&B. In other words, Wu Li is unclassifiable, but not because their music is so out there it’s hard to understand. On the contrary, their music retains an impressive balance of being ‘out there’ while remaining accessible, experimental with multiple genres yet deeply rooted in tradition.
Throughout their self-entitled album, released in 2008, saxophonist Maxfield Gast maintains a clear, strong tone, dancing up and down the ranges of his horn and nailing high notes with such ease and beauty it’s hard to imagine a squeak ever coming from such an instrument.”
Becky Firesheets - Knocks from the Underground