Max Johnk is a musician who lives and works in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A native of Fargo, North Dakota, Max is a journeyman bassist with broad tastes and professional experience. He has been lucky to maintain ongoing partnerships with artists such as Nik Gruber, Conor Lee, Jessica Vines, Paul Silbergleit, Diane Miller, Pete James Johnson, Post Traumatic Funk Syndrome, Dan Brekke, Eric Martens, Tom Strait, Russ Peterson, Haley Rydell, Matthew Patnode, John DiFiore, Dave Ferreira, The Moving Parts, The Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, and The Fargo-Moorhead Opera, among others.
Along with sideman work, Max is a prolific bandleader and composer, with a focus on improvised music. Division of Masters, which emerged from the Covid19 pandemic, is an electric trio that traffics in experimental guitar music and free improvisation. Allweather, his long-running modern jazz ensemble, released an album in 2019, focusing on lyrical, grooving music in the mainstream tradition. A new Allweather album has been recorded and will be released in 2025. Max is also an enthusiastic participant in the underground music scene, having recorded and performed with the alternative rock band Wild Amphora and the doom metal trio Benefactor.
Before relocating to Minneapolis, Max taught for nearly a decade in his hometown, serving as a private instructor at Amped School of Music in Fargo, and as an adjunct professor at his alma mater, Minnesota State University Moorhead.
Max currently teaches upright and electric bass at Music on Grand in St. Paul, MN.
Max holds a Bachelor of Music from Minnesota State University Moorhead (2011), and Masters of Music from Northern Illinois University (2014). he can be found online at maxjohnk.com and maxjohnk.bandcamp.com.
Photo by Scott Olsen
Max Johnk 