David Maxwell & Otis Spann

Pianist David Maxwell has been a part of the Boston blues scene as a sideman since the late 1960s, but has only in the '90s begun leading his own band and recording under his own name. Maxwell took some of his early stylistic cues from the likes of Spann, Sunnyland Slim and Pinetop Perkins, also listening to the recordings of Big Maceo, Ray Charles and Memphis Slim; he became friendly with Muddy Waters' longtime piano player, Otis Spann, in the late 1960s. Maxwell went on to back many great players over the years, including Freddie King, whom he worked with for two years in...