One of those musicians whose work is universally known and whose names are cherished mostly by aficionados, Max Middleton is composer and player par excellence. While everyone’s familiar with his instrumental ballad “The Loner” that Gary Moore took into millions of homes and everybody’s heard his Fender Rhodes on Kate Bush’s “Babooshka” – to mention but two of the English keyboardist’s credits, which most notably include a stint with Jeff Beck and performances on the guitarist’s hugely influential “Blow By Blow” – the veteran’s own records remain the connoisseurs’ domain. Not that Max issued too many platters, his last released in 2013, and still the arrival of a follow-up to “Two Cranes” feels like something to celebrate.
