Idealist Maz

• 1Dream Away06:01
• 2Picture03:54
• 3Bombs into Wine05:12
• 4Dying Star04:05
• 5The Rain in June03:51
• 6Replica06:01
• 7These Words04:55
• 8Arizona05:44
• Total Runtime39:43

Info for Idealist

Though he's primarily known as a trumpeter and composer for Snarky Puppy, Grammy-winner Mike `Maz' Maher is also lead vocalist for his own soulful jazz collective, Maz, which includes members of Snarky Puppy such as Cory Henry, Michael League, Bob Lanzetti, Justin Stanton and Robert "Sput" Searight, among others. Maz has also worked with artists including Diane Birch and the Gregory Brothers.

"I didn't know you sing!", an outburst Mike 'Maz' Maher has become used to hearing. For the past ten years he's been building a repulation as a trumpeter and composer with the Grammy award-winning group Snarky Puppy. Truth is, Maz has been singing and writing songs since he was a teenager and has never lost his passion for it. He released his debut EP, Maz, in 2012 and began opening for Snarky Puppy in venues around the world as well as playing shows in his hometown of Brooklyn, NY. Since that release there has been growing anticipation for a follow-up album.

My goal for this album was quite simple: to write great songs. Since the release of my first EP in 2012, I’ve become increasingly enamored with the great singer songwriters of the last century. Writing a great song is no easy task! The discipline is a very fragile combination of technique and inspiration. Over the last four years I spent a lot of time studying the songs of my heroes, practicing writing lyrics, and experimenting with song forms. I wrote lyrics on planes, in cafes and hotel lobbies, in the library, in my bed room, in the park, on the subway. The lyrics to Dream Away were written at Katz’s deli in the Lower East Side. I sat in a quiet section of the deli with nobody near me for all of the afternoon and into the early evening. One pastrami sandwich from Katz’s is two full meals if you cut it in half. Orange flavored Crush sodas can provide essential bursts of creative energy. Katz’s did the trick!

In the end these songs are good reflections of the things I think about. They’re personal. I don’t mind including my sociopolitical point of view in my songs. In fact, those topics inspire me to write. So they’re in there (Bombs Into Wine, Replica, These Words). The overwhelming beauty of nature and the universe made it in there too (Dying Star, The Rain in June).

Mike Maher, voice
Bob Lanzetti, guitar
Cory Henry, keyboards
Justin Stanton, keyboards
Bobby Sparks, keyboards
Michael League, bass
Carlin White, drums
Robert "Sput" Searight, drums
Brian Dunne, drums
Jason "JT" Thomas, drums
Charles Norris, drums
Nate Werth, percussion
Candy West, background vocals
Peaches West, background vocals
Hidegunn Gjedrem, background vocals
Melissa McMillan, background vocals

Maz
is a band led by trumpeter and singer/songwriter Mike 'Maz' Maher. Mike, who is best known for his trumpet playing with Snarky Puppy, started the band in 2009 as an outlet to explore his singing and songwriting in a context outside of jazz fusion.

The band has released three recordings; 'Maz' in 2012, 'Idealist' in 2016, and 'Maz Flips the Script' in 2018.

This album contains no booklet.