Maxwell Salinger-Ridley is a music maker and music teacher in Boston. His life in music started as a toddler by imitating the conductor of the Boston Pops from the audience while watching his Mom sing with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. He also later would watch his Dad sing with the Boston Opera Company so it’s no surprise that he began formally participating in music by singing in the school choir and informally by playing punk rock with friends after school. He began his formal bass studies at the Brookline Music School and in high school at the Boston Arts Academy. It was there that he first fell in love with Jazz and the upright bass. He was awarded full-tuition scholarships to study at Berklee College of Music for both undergraduate and graduate degrees, earning his graduate degree from the Berklee Global Jazz Institute under the direction of master pianist, educator and humanitarian Danilo Perez. An equally important part of his education was down the street from Berklee at Boston’s historic Wally’s Jazz Cafe. He began going to jam sessions there in high school and more recently, was the house bass player every Friday and Saturday night.
Ridley has shared the stage with renown musicians of many different styles all over the world, traveling by plane and staying in hotels, as well as by van and sleeping on couches and floors. He is one of the most in-demand musicians New England and beyond and can be found playing as a sideman in many different groups and has a few albums out of his own music. He also serves as the music director for tap dance company Subject:Matter (https://www.subjectmattertap.com/) and teaches music as a guest lecturer at different colleges around New England (such as Longy School of Music, University of New Hampshire and Berklee College of Music) and at the Hamilton-Garrett Music and Arts Academy (a magical community afterschool program for children in Boston located next to the historic Charles Street AME Church in Roxbury https://www.hamiltongarrett.org/)
He has also spent some time living in Valencia, Spain and considers that his second home and musical community.
Spiritually, he grew up culturally Jewish, serves in the praise and worship team at the Somerville Community Baptist Church every Sunday and is a follower of Sadhguru and has been practicing Isha Yoga since January 2023. He also is a devotee of the god Hanuman. He considers his work as a musician and teacher to fall under the larger umbrella of the Spiritual Service Industry.