From the Movies
Max Rebo is the leader of the eponymous Max Rebo Band. The blue-skinned, flop-eared alien played up-tempo tunes, using his surprisingly dextrous fingers to coax music from his Red Ball Jett keyboard. He was a favorite of Jabba the Hutt, and his band was a mainstay at the bloated gangster's palace. Rebo even played aboard Jabba's sail barge and was present when the ill-fated execution party transported prisoner Luke Skywalker and his friends into the Dune Sea.
From the Expanded Universe
Like other Ortolans, Max Rebo has a keen sense of hearing, an appreciation of music, and an overpowering obsession with food. His gluttony was nearly his undoing on several occasions.
Though a talented musician, Rebo rarely seized the initiative to make a name in the business. He was typically more concerned with gorging himself. He was first managed by Evar Orbus, along with compatriots Droopy McCool, Sy Snootles and others. When Orbus was killed by a stray blaster (possibly fired by a disgruntled musician), Max ended up fronting the remainder of the band. The Max Rebo Band grew as Max brought other musicians into the fold.
They made contact with an agent of Jabba the Hutt and secured a lifetime gig as Jabba's palace band. The narrow-minded Rebo signed for payment to be delivered in the form of foodstuffs, a condition that none of the other musicians appreciated.
Some, but not all, of the 12-member ensemble joined Jabba's sail barge party as it soared into the Dune Sea to execute Luke Skywalker and his friends. The band members were spared a fiery death by their placement in the lower levels of the barge. The scant moments afforded them by the creaky armored bulkheads were all they needed to jump overboard to safety.
With Jabba's criminal empire scuttled, the band was freed from the contract. The group disbanded, and Max and Sy Snootles worked for crime lord Lady Valarian for a while. Reportedly, Max eventually joined the Rebel Alliance, claiming that the Rebels offered the best food. After the war, Max opened up an extremely successful restaurant that grew to become a chain. He eventually retired a wealthy being on Coruscant.
Behind the Scenes
Max Rebo was a crafted as a two-man puppet, with one operator controlling the head and one arm, and the other handling the remaining arm. Max was creature #21 of the dozens of aliens crafted for
Return of the Jedi.
