“Nerdly-but-fiery.” — The Arcata Eye
Max Kutner is a Brooklyn-based guitarist, composer, improviser, and curator originally from Las Vegas, Nevada. His work explores the electric guitar as both an instrument and a sonic environment, with a particular focus on expanding its role within contemporary composition, improvisation, and new performance contexts.
As a performer, Kutner has built a remarkably wide-ranging career at the intersection of experimental music, jazz, rock, contemporary classical music, and the avant-garde. He was the lead guitarist in the final lineup of the Magic Band featuring original member John “Drumbo” French, performing the music of Captain Beefheart internationally. He has also performed with the Oingo Boingo Former Members and the Grandmothers of Invention, featuring Frank Zappa alumni Don Preston, Bunk Gardner, and Napoleon Murphy Brock, and has worked in the bands and projects of Alphonso Johnson, Ulrich Krieger, Matt Darriau, Frank London, Henry Kaiser, Daniel Rosenboom, and Lili Haydn.
Kutner’s work as a composer and instrumentalist has been featured in showcases at CalArts and the Wulf, as well as on KCET television and radio stations including KPFK, FRSC, KCBS, KBOO, KMHD, WFMU, KXLU, WVUD, WCBN, KSDS, and KUNR. His performance practice encompasses not only conventional guitar playing but the development of new approaches, instrumentation, and contexts for the electric guitar.
He has also been deeply involved in the presentation and production of new music. Kutner developed and performed multiple instrumental parts for the U.S. premiere of Mike Keneally’s "The Universe Will Provide" at REDCAT in 2011. He has additionally participated in West Coast premiere performances of works by Sofia Gubaidulina at REDCAT and Ulrich Krieger at Beyond Baroque. In 2021, he received a City Artist Corps grant through the New York Foundation for the Arts, which supported the creation and programming of the inaugural Whatever Guitar Festival in Brooklyn. In 2024, he received a grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.
Alongside his performing and compositional work, Kutner has maintained an active career as an educator. He served on the adjunct faculty at CalArts as a guitar instructor for non-majors from 2012–13 and again from 2017–18. From 2015–18, he was Artist Liaison for the Los Angeles-based creative music label Orenda Records. He has presented clinics and workshops at the University of Minnesota, the University of Nevada, Idaho State University, Humboldt State University, and the University of Northern Colorado, and continues to maintain a private teaching studio offering instruction in guitar, bass, theory, and composition.
Alongside his performing and compositional work, Kutner has maintained an active career as an educator. He served on the adjunct faculty at CalArts as a guitar instructor for non-majors from 2012–13 and again from 2017–18. From 2015–18, he was Artist Liaison for the Los Angeles-based creative music label Orenda Records. He has presented clinics and workshops at the University of Minnesota, the University of Nevada, Idaho State University, Humboldt State University, and the University of Northern Colorado, and continues to maintain a private teaching studio offering instruction in guitar, bass, theory, and composition.
Kutner’s work extends into recording, theater, sound design, and media. He has participated in a recording of John Cage’s indeterminate works for Mode Records and has appeared as a soloist with the University of Nevada Chamber Choir and Guitar Ensemble. He has performed as lead guitarist in Truckee Meadows Community College productions of "Hair" and "Rent", contributed to the sound design of a CalArts adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s "Desire Under the Elms", and, in 2021, created soundscapes for Nomad Theater’s NYC production of "Butterfly Effect". He also performed on several songs for the Angel Band Project’s "Songs of Survival", an album benefiting survivors of sexual assault in New York City. In addition, Kutner composes for commercial film and podcasts and has provided orchestration and programming for various productions on . He is also a regular columnist and reviewer for All About Jazz
His solo discography reflects the same stylistic range and restless curiosity that characterize his performance career. His debut, Disaffection Finds Its Pure Form (2017), is a quasi-ambient process work featuring Kutner on 30 electric guitars simultaneously, released jointly by Silber Records and Records ad Nauseam. It was followed by Array (2018), a collection of home-recorded songs and improvisations; rummagelore (2019), released by All Terrain Press; and World (2020), an album of live solo improvisations.
"High Flavors", his first album under his name as an ensemble leader was released on December 2, 2022. In April 2024, Kutner unveiled a new trio featuring Ben Stapp on tuba and James Paul Nadien on drums with an album entitled "Partial Custody". After taking a year off performing his own music, Kutner released "Rogue Lash" in February 2026. The album is a poly-stylistic, large scale collection of original music written, arranged, and produced from home and featuring nearly a dozen guest artists from different US cities. This was followed by the release of "The Illustrated Interior" which expands upon those directions while abstracting their forms. His recordings are available through his personal Bandcamp page.
Kutner has also collaborated extensively outside his solo work. His duo recording with Henry Kaiser, Wild Courses, was released in December 2018 on Iluso Records. From 2015 thru 2023, he was been a member of the prog-rock-oriented Android Trio with Eric Klerks and Andrew Niven. The group released its debut, Road Songs, on Orenda Records in 2017, followed by Other Worlds on Cuneiform Records in 2021. Previously, Kutner led the experimental jazz trio Evil Genius (2012–18), the avant-folk group The Royal US (2011–18), and the mutant klezmer septet Bubbeleh (2010–16).