About Me
Max Roach was one of the most influential drummers in jazz history. Roach was one of the founding fathers of the Be-Bop style of jazz and, has played with such jazz greats as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins,and many others. Through his illustrious career, he has been involved in the ground-breaking recording of at least three jazz styles; most notably bebop, cool jazz, and hard bop. Though, Roach is apart of jazz history, he continues to be apart of today's jazz scene. He is considered, by many, the closest thing that jazz has to an elder.He was born Maxwell Roach on Jan 10, 1924 in New Land, NC. It was Roach's speed which set him apart from other drummers. His polyrhythmic coordination and also the quality of his solos revolutionized jazz drumming. Roach was known to layer his rhythms such as 5/4 over 3/4. He ended the notion that jazz could swing only in 4/4 time. Roach is also considered the first drummer to drum complete melodic lines.Max Roach began his musical career playing at the Manhattan School of Music. By the age of 18, Roach was performing at Minton's Playhouse and Monroe's Uptown House with the likes of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. His first recording was in 1943 with Dizzy Gillespie's Quintet which, in turn, involved him with the first bebop recording ever in 1944.By 1945, Roach was a jazz superstar. That same year, he joined Charlie Parker's Quintet, which he performed with on and off up until 1953. During that time, the group was responsible for some of the greatest bebop pieces ever made.Roach soon became part of another jazz movement with his involvement with the Miles Davis Capitol Orchestra in 1948. The brief but trail-blazing performance of this band was the beginning of the cool bop style of jazz. The band consisted of Miles Davis on trumpet, J.J. Johnson or Kai Winding on trombone, Lee Konitz on alto sax, Gerry Mulligan on baritone sax, Al Haig or John Lewis on piano, Joe Shulman or Nelson Boyd on bass, Max Roach or Kenny Clarke on drums, a French horn, and a tuba.In 1952, he along with Charles Mingus, founded Debut Records. He used Debut Records as a springboard to launch such memorable hits such as the Massey Hall concert in which the band was comprised of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus and Bud Powell.
Roach went on to play with the Lighthouse All-Stars in 1954. After which, he formed a quintet in Los Angeles with trumpeter Clifford Brown. The Brown/Roach Quintet, through EmArcy Records, was the definition of hard bop in the 1950's. The quintet produced several of the most defining recordings of that period. The sudden and tragic death of Clifford Brown was devastating to Roach. It is said that Max Roach would not let trumpeter Lee Morgan join the quintet because Morgan sounded so much like Clifford Brown. Despite the lose of Brown, the quintet managed to stay together throughout the 50's.Through his involvement with the Civil Rights Movement, Roach met the activist/singer Abbey Lincoln. The two were married from 1962 to 1970. During that time, Roach recorded the influential We Insist: Freedom Now Suite with Oscar Brown Jr. This piece was a moving dedication to the black liberation struggle in America.In 1970, Roach formed the ten-piece percussion ensemble M'Boom. The group incorporated languages and timbres from classical contemporary music during their performances. After this period, Roach became interested in the new avant-grade style of jazz. In the early 80's, he performed in the partly improvising Uptown String Quartet with his daughter Maxine on viola.Max Roach continues to play jazz till this day. He also continiues to pass on his musical knowledge as a professor in the Music Department at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He has become almost the living embodiment of jazz. He started in be-bop, continued through cool jazz to hard bop, and changed to avant-garde. His career in jazz is the essence of improvisation; constantly changing, alive for the moment, and always unique.
