Max Hartstein

American Jazz bassist, visual artist, and author. Born August 11, 1929 in South Bend, Indiana Died August 8, 2011 (82 years old). He was drawing by age three and painting by age nine. He started playing string bass at nineteen. He studied music and art at Indiana University. He was active in San Francisco during the Beat Generation. He was drafted in 1955 and during basic training he worked with Nat and Cannonball Adderly, and Junior Mane at the Fort Knox, Kentucky N.C.O. Club. He performed with some of the greatest players in jazz history, including Ben Webster, Kenny Clark, Dexter Gordon, Bud Powell, Dizzy Gillespie, and Benny Goodman. He later had led and conducted band called Max Hartstein’s 25th Century Ensemble. He was also a visual artist, known for his modernist figures, still lifes, and marine paintings.