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Max Roach

Max Roach is an NEA Jazz Master

Maxwell Lemuel Roach is a percussionist, drummer, and jazz composer. He has worked with many of the greatest jazz musicians, including Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Sonny Rollins. He is widely considered to be one of the most important drummers in the history of jazz.

Roach was born in Newland, North Carolina, to Alphonse and Cressie Roach; his family moved to Brooklyn, New York when he was 4 years old. He grew up in a musical context, his mother being a gospel singer, and he started to play bugle in parade orchestras at a young age. At the age of 10, he was already playing drums in some gospel bands. He performed his first big-time gig in New York City at the age of sixteen, substituting for Sonny Greer in a performance with the Duke Ellington Orchestra.

In 1942, Roach started to go out in the jazz clubs of the 52nd Street and at 78th Street & Broadway for Georgie Jay's Taproom (playing with schoolmate Cecil Payne). He was one of the first drummers (along with Kenny Clarke) to play in the bebop style, and performed in bands led by Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Coleman Hawkins, Bud Powell, and Miles Davis.

Roach played on many of Parker's most important records, including the Savoy 1945 session, a turning point in recorded jazz.

Two children, son Daryl and daughter Maxine, were born from his first marriage with Mildred Roach. In 1954 he met singer Barbara Jai (Johnson) and had another son, Raoul Jordu.

He continued to play as a freelance while studying composition at the Manhattan School of Music. He graduated in 1952.

During the period 1962-1970, Roach was married to the singer Abbey Lincoln, who had performed on several of Roach's albums. Twin daughters, Ayodele and Dara Rasheeda, were later born to Roach and his third wife, Janus Adams Roach.

Long involved in jazz education, in 1972 he joined the faculty of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

In the early 2000s, Roach became less active owing to the onset of hydrocephalus-related complications.

Renowned all throughout his performing life, Roach has won an extraordinary array of honors. He was one of the first to be given a MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant, cited as a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in France, twice awarded the French Grand Prix du Disque, elected to the International Percussive Society's Hall of Fame and the Downbeat Magazine Hall of Fame, awarded Harvard Jazz Master, celebrated by Aaron Davis Hall, given eight honorary doctorate degrees, including degrees awarded by the University of Bologna, Italy and Columbia University.

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Radio & Podcasts

Random Acts of Roach 2, Charlie Haden, Basie!

Read "Random Acts of Roach 2, Charlie Haden, Basie!" reviewed by David Brown


This week we continue with our Random Acts of Roach in celebration of the centennial of the birth of the legendary Max Roach; we'll also visit two piano trio sets anchored by bassist Charlie Haden, three bits of Basie, and a set of Dizzy Gillespie & Lalo Schifrin works. New and recent releases and gems from past will round out the show. Old, new, in, out... wherever the music takes us. Each week, we will explore the elements of jazz ...

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Radio & Podcasts

Random Acts of Roach, Knoel Scott, Jimmy Rowles

Read "Random Acts of Roach, Knoel Scott, Jimmy Rowles" reviewed by David Brown


This week, we'll kick off our celebration of the Max Roach Centennial with a weekly set titled Random Acts of Max Roach; the show will also include a pair of tunes featuring saxophonist Knoel Scott of the Sun Ra Arkestra, jazz interpretations of Neil Young songs, and a set showcasing pianist Jimmy Rowles. Welcome friends and neighbors to The Jazz Continuum. Old, new, in, out... wherever the music takes us. Each week, we will explore the elements of jazz from ...

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Album Review

Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, Max Roach: Hot House: The Complete Jazz at Massey Hall Recordings

Read "Hot House: The Complete Jazz at Massey Hall Recordings" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci


This is the stuff of legend, one for the ages. It all started here; the greatest jazz concert of all time. How many times has the Massey Hall Concert (Toronto, 1953) been described that way? For the average All About Jazz reader, Massey Hall happened before he or she was born. Besides, there were other famous jazz concerts such as The Carnival of Swing (Randall's Island, NY, 1938), Benny Goodman's 1938 Carnegie Hall Concert (that remained unreleased until 1958), Gene ...

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Film Review

Salvation through rhythm: Max Roach—The Drum Also Waltzes

Read "Salvation through rhythm: Max Roach—The Drum Also Waltzes" reviewed by Peter Jones


Max Roach--The Drum Also Waltzes Directed by Sam Pollard and Ben Shapiro PBS American Masters2023 Anyone who enjoyed the recent Wayne Shorter documentary Zero Gravity might also dig this--a more conventionally structured but equally fascinating look at the life of Max Roach. Filmmaker and interviewer Sam Pollard began making it in October 1987, then--for reasons which are not explained--left it alone for years before resuming again at some point after Roach's death in 2007.

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Album Review

Thelonious Monk: Brilliant Corners

Read "Brilliant Corners" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci


Writing about being “lost for words" is not the ideal way of starting a review, but it may be the plain truth. Perhaps Thelonious Monk is an acquired taste. Perhaps not. Whatever the case, this particular release of Brilliant Corners is just that--brilliant.The whole package is superb and really defines Craft Recordings “Small Batch" vinyl series. The technical literature accompanying the recording says “Each edition is cut from its original analog tapes by Bernie Grundman and pressed on ...

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Album Review

Charlie Parker: Be Bop Live

Read "Be Bop Live" reviewed by Mark Corroto


The name of the record label is ezz-thetics, which was also a composition by George Russell and an album of the same name (which featured Eric Dolphy) released by Riverside Records in 1961. Maybe a better moniker for the label is “Lest We Forget." Not that we could ever abandon Charlie Parker, but today when streaming services replace CDs and LPs, which also replaced 78s and live radio broadcasts (the streaming service of its day), Parker has the possibility of ...

Album Review

Charlie Parker Quintets: Be Bop Live

Read "Be Bop Live" reviewed by Stefano Merighi


Benvenuti a uno dei convegni di bellezza più eccitanti che il jazz abbia mai prodotto. Royal Roost, New York City, dicembre 1948-febbraio 1949, due mesi in cui Charlie “Bird" Parker teneva il cartellone nel club della Quarantasettesima, sconvolgendo il pubblico con alcune tra le sue esibizioni più brillanti. Il bop era già linguaggio assimilato ormai, ma l'eccezionalità di quelle serate confermava Parker come punta di diamante di tutta la cultura africana-americana, al di là delle correnti jazzistiche.Questo doppio ...

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Performance / Tour

'The Music Of Max Roach' Celebrates The Centennial Of The Legendary Jazz Drummer And Composer On Thursday, February 15, 2024

'The Music Of Max Roach' Celebrates The Centennial Of The Legendary Jazz Drummer And Composer On Thursday, February 15, 2024

Source: Braithwaite & Katz Communications

New England Conservatory’s Jazz Studies Department marks the centennial of a great American jazz drummer and composer with The Music of Max Roach on Thursday, February 15, at 8 p.m. in NEC’s Burnes Hall. NEC faculty member and drummer Nasheet Waits, who performed with Roach in his historic percussion ensemble M’Boom, curates the event and joins NEC students in a program featuring a full performance of We Insist! The Freedom NowSuite and other music. A pioneer of bebop, Roach worked ...

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Video / DVD

100 Years of Max Roach

100 Years of Max Roach

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Max Roach's birth date could easily be a time signature played by the drummer. Though his birth certificate listed his arrival as January 10, 1924, he told radio historian Phil Schapp that his parents said he was born on January 8. As a result, his birth date is typically given as January 8/10. Last week was his centenary. Roach would become the first jazz drummer to fully exploit bebop's speed, freedom and form. While keeping time, he'd often drop in ...

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Performance / Tour

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center Announces 2024 Winter Jazz Performances Including Max Roach Centennial Celebrations, All-Star Musical Exploration Of Peggy Lee-frank Sinatra, And More

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center Announces 2024 Winter Jazz Performances Including Max Roach Centennial Celebrations, All-Star Musical Exploration Of Peggy Lee-frank Sinatra, And More

Source: AMT Public Relations

Thursday, January 18 at 7:00 p.m. Max Roach Centennial: The Drum Also Waltzes Documentary Film Screening + Panel Discussion Celebrate Max Roach’s centennial with a screening of the new documentary Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes at The Newark Museum of Art. Afterwards, a panel discussion will include Max’s son Raoul Roach and the film’s director / producers Sam Pollard and Ben Shapiro. Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes explores the life and music of the legendary drummer, composer, bandleader ...

Video / DVD

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: We Insist! - Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: We Insist! - Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

This week, let's take a look back at an extended jazz composition of historical importance that, unfortunately, remains topical 60 years after its premiere. We Insist: Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite is the title of a 1960 album by drummer Max Roach, featuring a five-part work composed by Roach with singer and lyricist Oscar Brown Jr. Considered a significant work of protest during the Civil Rights era, the “Freedom Now Suite" reflects two important trends of its time: the continuing ...

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Video / DVD

Hank Mobley and Max Roach

Hank Mobley and Max Roach

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

It's hard to believe, but drummer Max Roach and tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley recorded just three albums together. In all three cases, Roach was the session leader. On two of the dates, Mobley was teamed with trumpeter Kenny Dorham. Frankly, I was surprised when I discovered their scant output while doing some fast research yesterday. Roach and Mobley are so perfect together as players, I just assumed there were more recordings. Roach throws down crisp polyrhythms, often at a fast ...

Video / DVD

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: We Insist: Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: We Insist: Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

This week, let's take a look at an extended jazz composition of historical importance that is being revived for a performance later this month in St. Louis. We Insist: Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite is the title of a 1960 album by drummer Max Roach, featuring a five-part work composed by Roach with singer and lyricist Oscar Brown Jr. The album's titular suite will be performed here in St. Louis as part of a program called “Jazz, Race and Politics" ...

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Recording

Max Roach Meets the Backbeat

Max Roach Meets the Backbeat

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Modern jazz survived and flourished in the 1950s largely because many gifted artists didn't sell out. Imagine what would have happened if Clifford Brown, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Bill Evans decided to open music stores or take jobs at universities rather than tour and record? Or if artists like Max Roach, Jimmy Cleveland, Monk Montgomery and Gigi Gryce had chosen to record R&B singles instead of jazz albums. Actually, the latter hypothetical did take place in 1953. ...

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Radio

Max Roach Birthday Radio Special With Host Larry Reni Thomas On WCOM-FM 1/13/13

Max Roach Birthday Radio Special With Host Larry Reni Thomas On WCOM-FM  1/13/13

Source: Larry Reni Thomas

Listen to WCOM-FM, Chapel Hill-Carrboro, North Carolina, January 13, 2013, from 9pm to 12 midnight, for The Max Roach Birthday Special with host Larry Reni Thomas. The program will feature three hours of Max Roach’s music and the premiere of an audio documentary called “Max Roach: The Great North Carolina Jazz Intellectual.” It features commentary and analysis from Jim Ketch, a trumpet player and a jazz studies professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Dr. Larry Ridley, ...

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Recording

Max Roach & Archie Shepp: "The Long March" on Hatology 2-640

Max Roach & Archie Shepp: "The Long March" on Hatology 2-640

Source: Michael Ricci

Max Roach & Archie Shepp The Long March Hatology 2-640 Max Roach – drums Archie Shepp – tenor saxophone Recorded in concert at Willisau Jazzfestival on August 30th, 1979, two significant artists of different generations share a creative impetus of social and political concern, find a common ground of sound, and improvise a music of conscience and consequence that transcends time and place and comments on the human condition – an eternal ...

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Performance / Tour

Remembering Master Drummer Max Roach

Remembering Master Drummer Max Roach

Source: Michael Ricci

When Max Roach died last August at 83, he was remembered for a number of things: his stature as a patriarch of bebop; his role in quickening the pulse of jazz drumming; his intelligent ambitions as a conceptualist and composer; his commitment to social justice and equality. What was sometimes buried in the mix was Mr. Roach's track record as a bandleader, which began in earnest in the 1950s. But this weekend at Iridium, a handful of Mr. Roach's former ...

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Classic Don Byas...

Mosaic Records
2024

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Brilliant Corners

Craft Recordings
2023

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Brilliant Corners

Craft Recordings
2023

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Hot House: The...

Craft Recordings
2023

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The Savoy 10-inch LP...

Craft Recordings
2020

buy

Be Bop Live

Ezz-thetics
2020

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