Max ZT is known as the Jimi Hendrix of the hammered dulcimer, the stringed instrument that is played with sticks and is related to zither and cembalom. Throughout his journeys in Senegal and India he developed a personal style bringing together lush rhythms and scales with tight beats and grooves from contemporary jazz and hip-hop.
Max leads House of Waters, the American three-piece acclaimed for its eponymous first album on GroundUP, the label of Michael League (Snarky Puppy). Equally important for the group sound are 6-string bassist Moto Fukushima, who previously performed with Mike Stern and Joe Lovano, and in-demand Argentinean percussionist Ignacio Rivas Bixio. Following the success of their eponymous debut album, the band will release Rising (February 2019) on GroundUP, the label of Michael League (Snarky Puppy).
‘One of New York’s most interesting and unique bands. There is no other group in the world who sound remotely like them. In a casually expert way, frontman Max ZT is the Hendrix of the hammered dulcimer, an instrument on which he is a former American national champion. Yet while American folk music informs his songwriting, his rippling, hypnotic, warmly psychedelic instrumentals draw on styles from around the globe’ (New York Music Daily).
Max ZT hammered dulcimer, Moto Fukushima bass, Ignacio Rivas Bixio percussion