Plays: String Bass, Electric Bass,
Guitar, Piano, Violin, Saxophone
Max Jacob was born April
5th, 1991. His first instrument was guitar. Following guitar were many others including piano, violin, and saxophone.
In seventh grade at the age of 12 Max took up the electric bass playing
in local rock bands. Two years later, when Max became a freshman in Highland Park High School (HPHS), he played the
upright bass for the first time in HPHS' brand new string orchestra (under the direction of Mrs. Hsin-Ting Feng, to whom
Max credits much of his growth as a bassist and over-all musician).
A few months later Max would get to meet a few jazz musicians in his school (including his band director Mr. Werner Colmon
to whom Max credits a good deal of his jazz career, musicianship, and life skills) and found his love for jazz and at the
same time the upright bass. "The electric bass is a fine instrument and I still play it from time to time, but
the upright bass will always be my true love". Along with his love for bass he also found a great teacher through
Rutgers Community Music Program named Paul Bonnel.
Paul
still teaches Max today. "If I am any good at what I do, Paul is the reason. He has done so much for me."
Late in his freshman year Max set out to enroll in a pre-college jazz program. He practiced hard and auditioned for
Mannes (the new school), NJPAC, and Manhattan School of Music (MSM). Max was accepted into all three programs. He chose
to participate in MSM his sophmore year. There he was in two combos (under the directions of Jeremy Fletcher and Roland Barber)
as well as receiving music ear training and theory (Adam Czerepinski). Max also received private lessons during that year
from Ethan Halpern.
Currently, as junior, Max has also
found a love for classical music. He now attends MSM for classical bass. He is the assistant principle in the highest level
orchestra (under the direction of maestro Strasser). Max Is a regular sub with the Rutgers symphony orchestra as well. His
classical mentors have included Bret Simner and Linda Mcknight.
Max Jacob teaches young bass players (4th
and 5th grade mostly) and plays jazz and classical gigs regularly.
