I’ll come to the answer to that later but if you’ve not been to Guanabara, it’s time to go. They’re all set for the World Cup. What with EA Sports World Cup Germany 2006 game stations and footie videos on the big screen, this was four days before the opening game you’d have thought Brazil had already won the competition.

Not only that, a six-piece Planet Rescue was backing Max for a live gig to support the release of the album, Star Charts. With acoustic bass, baritone sax/flute, keyboards, EFX, drums, congas and Max on vocals and assorted instruments, they kicked off with a Brazilian percussion workout which warmed up the crowd nicely.

The gig was in the round in of the club dancefloor as opposed to the band being on stage and that made it very intimate. Deborah Jordan, who guests on ‘Backstep’, was in the crowd and it was a disappointment that she didn’t join in (to be fair she told me later that she was not feeling too good). On the positive side, wait ‘till you hear the big baritone sax of Ben Hadwen on a bossa ‘Mo High’ nova with the rest of the Planet Rescue band cookin’ away on solos with added cowbells by Max. Marvellous!

To be honest, I lost track of what was going after that as I was having such a great time. Max seems a little shy as a front man at the moment but a bit more practice and we could be witnessing the emergence of the next [insert your own choice of] soul/jazz/funk superstar. All agreed that this gig was much better than the Wah Wah Live gig a couple of weeks previously at Cargo and I’ll definitely be watching out for the next.

Not only is Max a vocalist, producer and multi-instrumentalist leading the way on samba-ed Sun Ra ‘shrug step’, he also help run the ‘Other Worlds’ night at Guanabara with his musical cohort Beatnik (on EFX tonight), Lewis and If… Music’s, Spencer Lowe. Guests in May included Sound Species (see ‘Brazilya’ on Burnt Progress album 1.1), Xantonè Blacq (remember the brilliant ‘Search For The Sun’ on Vinyl Junkies?) and Heidi Vogel (who has recently guested on Alessandro Oliveiro’s next 12” and is back again on 27th June).

Not content with that, Max (a Red Bull Music Academy Student) is also writing in Straight No Chaser and this issue (Spring/Summer 2006) he’s interviewed Kasper Collin about a documentary film about Albert Ayler. Max gets a double as he’s interviewed about the album (Undercurrents, page22). He tells us we’ll be hearing more of Planet Rescue this year on a ‘Strat East made techno’ tip (how exciting does that sound!) and another project called ‘Ark Under Wing’.

I hope he doesn’t have too much time for other projects as Max Cole and Planet Rescue are further out than Pelé’s shorts.

Planet Rescue are:
Nick Emanative (Drums)
Gary Wicks (Bass)
Graeme Blevins (Keyboards, Saxophone, Flute)
Ben Hadwen (Baritone Saxophone, Flute)
Nick Wilson (Cosmic fx)
Pedro Campolina (Berimbau & Percussion)

P.S. New reaches Hectic that there’s another show July 11th at Guanabara; check at www.guanabara.co.uk for confirmation nearer the date.

Links:
www.wahwah45s.com
www.cargo-london.com
www.myspace.com/deborahjordanmusic
Theives Of Time, Beatnik @ If…Music
JamiroquaiMusic.com
www.straightnochaser.co.uk
Revenant Records www.revenantrecords.com/ayler Albert Ayler - ‘Holy Ghost’ (Revenant)
www.mynameisalbertayler.com
Red Bull Music Academy www.redbullmusicacademy.com next Melbourne 2006
Pelé : Player Facts

Press Quotes:
‘Max’s album is something very special. Exceptional! Brilliant! One of the albums of the year.’
Gilles Peterson (Radio1)

‘Today’s forward thinking jazz and soul fraternity should take note, there’s a new kid on the block and he’s got the talent to rise to the top….’
Jon Freer (Keep On Magazine)