The streets of downtown Tampa and Ybor City are quieter after the death of beloved longtime saxophonist and street busker Max Pierre.
On Tuesday, Chris Harris (better known as the Tampa Bay Rays Bucketdrummer) sent Creative Loafing Tampa an email saying that Pierre, 60, suffered a stroke on December 27 and was brought to Tampa General Hospital the next day. According to Harris, Pierre was on life support for over a week. He passed on January 5.
Harris — a longtime friend of Pierre’s — said that the musician’s nephew, Dennis Pierre, shared the news with him. Max Pierre — who could be seen playing in downtown Tampa, Ybor City and outside Tropicana Field — was mistakenly thought dead in 2016, but CL called Dennis to confirm the latest news of his passing.
“The death certificates are being made and sent to my grandma,” Dennis said. “Sadly, the news is true this time.”
Dennis said that he and Max were more like brothers.
“We were only 13 years apart, so we grew up together. I worked in country clubs with Max,” Dennis, 47, said, referencing the iconic Maketewah Country Club in their hometown of Cincinnati.
The Queen City is where Max attended since-demolished Crest Hills Junior High School. It’s where he got his first sax, and Cincinnati is where Max would jam with childhood friend Vincent Calloway, who went on to play in ’80s electro-funk band Midnight Star. In a 2016 interview with CL, Max said that hearing Charlie Parker with Strings made him “determined to play music my whole life.”
And that’s what he did.
Max studied music at Tennessee State University, then transferred to North Texas State after visiting Cincinnati on break and hearing NTSU’s big band on WNOP-AM. He went back home in the early ‘80s and played in his own band before quitting it to start a new one with pianist and mentor Mark Diamond. In 1985, Max jetted to New Orleans, where he drove cabs and formed a relationship with Ellis Marsalis drummer Noel Kendrick; that connection turned into meets with late Wynton Marsalis pianist Kenny Kirkland. At one point during a session, the 19-year-old son of longtime New Orleans district attorney (and musician) Harry Connick, Sr. walked into the room they were playing in.
“We had no idea what that kid would end up being,” Max told CL before telling the story of how a stolen sax sent him into depression, which led to alcohol abuse.
“I saw him go through those hard times, too,” Dennis said, adding that Max was a great uncle and friend.
Max eventually got back to busking in Cincinnati's Mt. Adams neighborhood, where he met another busker, Brady Thomas. Thomas changed Max’s plans, and they moved to Florida in 2001. Brady eventually got back on the road, but Max stayed in Tampa Bay where he entertained folks streaming out of sporting events or walking the streets of Ybor and downtown. Max made friends with everyone and even jammed with local musicians like Poetry ‘N Lotion.
“[He’s] a bad motherfucker,” PnL horn player Kenny Pullin told CL in 2016. During one session at downtown Tampa dive The Hub, Max and PnL went into “Take Five” by Dave Brubeck. Max slayed, and Pullin ended up shooting the shit with the fellow horn player. Pullin told Max how he thought Sinatra didn’t deserve to shine Sammy Davis’s shoes.
“[Max] looked up from his chair and gave me a big hug as if I were the first person to have ever agreed wholeheartedly with him on this,” Pullin said.
According to Dennis, Max got to spend time with his family over Thanksgiving break. Max would always lighten the mood and make everyone smile. Seeing Max on a hospital bed was rough on Dennis, but getting to hear stories about the friends he made was heartwarming.
“We really loved him, but I didn’t realize how much his Tampa family loved him,” Dennis said, “It’s pretty good to see that he made an impact there, too.”
Max’s funeral will fittingly be held on Seventh Street in Cincinnati (Union Baptist at 405 W. 7th St, to be exact). Dennis said that the viewing is on January 19 at 9 a.m. A funeral will follow at 11 a.m. and the burial will happen after that. Cards can be sent to Max Pierre c/o Elsie Pierre (1911 Catalina Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio 45237).
In 2016, Max expressed a little outrage at the false news of his death.
“I feel sad that people who appreciate my music had to go through that,” Max said. He loved to busk, and entertaining the people of Tampa brought joy and meaning to his life. To wake up and play the horn was all he ever wanted.
“The best part about being on the street,” he said, “is the freedom.”
It’s a little bit quieter on the streets of Ybor City now that Max the sax has been silenced, but he’s still got a lot of friends who will never forget his song.
This article appears in Jan 10-17, 2019.