Cahn, Max

Violinist whose career stretches back to as early as 17^th July 1931, when he made an appearance on WEAF radio in New York. In 1939, he performed with Coleman Hawkins on April in Paris and Body & Soul, and their collaboration would extend through 1956 for the release of The Hawk in Hi-Fi and the recording of The Hawk in Paris. A year later, he was in the strings section on Marian McPartland’s LP, With You in Mind. In 1959, he recorded Witchcraft with Chris Connor and The Ballad Artistry of Milt Jackson.

One of his most famous recordings is Sam Cooke’s “Sad Mood”, which reached #23 on the R&B chart and #29 on the pop chart in 1961. (It appears on Hits! and The Man Who Invented Soul, the latter of which was released on CD in 2000.) In 1964, he helped accompany Carmen McRae on Alfie, and in 1969, recorded Round Trip with Phil Woods.

He teamed up with Gregg Allman in 1973 on his album, Laid Back, and directed the strings on The Gregg Allman Tour, released on vinyl in 1974. Four years later, Quincy Jones scooped him up for the string section of The Wiz. A couple of his last recordings appear to be Frank Sinatra’s 1979 boxed set, Trilogy, and Richard Tee’s Strokin’, released the same year.

It is not difficult to find older, re-mastered recordings of Max Cahn’s violin work on CD, however: Released between 1998 and 2004 were Perry Como’s Juke Box Baby, Sam Cooke’s Portrait of a Legend 1951-1964, Coleman Hawkins’ The Centennial Collection, Lena Horne’s Stormy Weather, and The Jazz Singers 1919-1994.

Frank Sinatra recordings
That’s What God Looks Like To Me (Stan Irvin/Lan O’Kun)
Reprise RPS 49233 (XNY2101S) (US 45)
Theme from “New York, New York” (Fred Ebb/John Kander)
Reprise RPS49233 (XNY 2103 S) (US 45)

Here’s Sam Cooke’s “Sad Mood”….

Sources:

Cahn, Max

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