Max Kraus Trio

Bassist Max Kraus has performed in venues from Carnegie Hall and the Kimmel Center (Philadelphia, PA) to Bimhuis (Amsterdam, NL), Capitol Recording Studios and the LA Opera. He has appeared with renowned jazz artists such as Tim Warfield Jr., Roy McCurdy, Bobby Watson, Bob Mintzer, Ben van Gelder, and Joanna Pascale, as well as the Cuban music group Conjunto Philadelphia, star of Broadway’s Jersey Boys Joseph Leo Bwarie, and internationally acclaimed baritone Rod Gilfry. As a musician who is well-versed in the jazz tradition and various other styles of music, Kraus has the ability to contribute supportive and lyrical bass playing to a wide range of musical situations.

As a composer, Kraus released his debut album, Singularity, in 2014 with original compositions that had a heavy influence from the music of Wayne Shorter. The album was featured on Philadelphia’s jazz radio station WRTI for months after the release and Kraus was invited on air to give an interview about the music. Since that project, he has contributed compositions to Pierre Charles III’s 2017 album Better and the LAHO Group, which toured across the Netherlands and recorded a broadcast on Bimhuis Radio with Ben van Gelder. In 2018, he premiered the Shadow Atlas Suite for his "triple quartet" ensemble (4 strings, 4 horns, 4 rhythm section), scored a string quartet piece for the VR film "Music Inside," and composed music for the play Harlem South: A View through the Lens that premieres in 2019.

The Max Kraus Trio plays original music that combines influences from jazz to Afro-Caribbean and European classical music. The group began performing in Los Angeles in 2018 and is planning a west coast tour for later in 2019.