* En anglais uniquement
Max Kaminsky was a reliable Dixieland player who was featured on many sessions with
Eddie Condon's gang in the 1940s and '50s. He played early on in Boston and was a veteran of 1920s Chicago, where he gigged with
Bud Freeman,
Frank Teschemacher, and
Condon. Moving to New York in 1929,
Kaminsky had a short stint with
Red Nichols and then worked in commercial bands, although he did have opportunities to record with
Condon,
Benny Carter (1933), and
Mezz Mezzrow (1933-1934).
Kaminsky gained some fame for his work with
Tommy Dorsey's Orchestra (1936), including broadcasts with an early version of the Clambake Seven. He was with
Artie Shaw briefly in 1938, returned to
TD, and then was perfectly at home in
Bud Freeman's freewheeling Summa Cum Laude Orchestra (1939-1940). After periods with
Tony Pastor (1940-1941) and
Artie Shaw's 1942 orchestra,
Kaminsky went in the military, where he played with
Shaw's Navy Band throughout the Pacific.
Maxie was a star at
Eddie Condon's legendary Town Hall concerts (1944-1945) and began recording as a leader for Commodore (1944). He alternated between
Condon's bands and his own groups, wrote one of the great memoirs (Jazz Band: My Life in Jazz), kept an open mind toward newer styles (even jamming with
Charlie Parker) while not altering his straightforward approach, and toured the Far East with
Jack Teagarden (1959). He was a fixture at Jimmy Ryan's for decades and at his death (after a decade of semi-retirement) one of the last surviving Condonites.
Max Kaminsky recorded as a leader for Commodore, MGM, Victor (1954), Jazztone, Winchester, United Artists, Chiaroscuro (1977), and Fat Cat Jazz. ~ Scott Yanow