Jazz and Blues Lounge

R.I.P. - Max Roach

by balaspa on August 27th, 2007

When you start to get involved in the jazz scene and you take the time to go back and study the earliest of the jazz albums, certain names begin to pop up again and again.  You can probably rattle them off yourself.  The other thing is that jazz fans tend to be the types who want to know who all of the musicians are that they are listening to.  So, you often get to know the “side-men” just as well as the stars.

You know that Jelly Roll Morton is often credited (whether he should be or not) with helping create the modern jazz sound.  You know the name Charlie Parker.  You know who Miles Davis is.  You know who Dizzy Gillespie is and why his horn is bent like that.  You can recognize a Charles Mingus version of a song and know when Thelonius Monk is playing the piano in a second.

Lost in some of this, at times, are the drummers.  Maybe you know Buddy Rich and what a colossal jerk he was even to other musicians in jazz.  It’s a shame the jazz drummers get lost in the hubub over the other musicians.  In jazz, the drummers are often the glue that prevents those wild improvisations from taking the entire tune off track.

Max Roach was, without a doubt, one of the best.  It seems there was a time when you simply could not pick up a jazz album and not see his name listed as the drummer.  That isn’t a bad thing.  It just means he was immensely talented.

Roach was the co-founder of Debut Records which he started with Mingus in the 1950s.  Debut records went on to release an album entitled “Jazz at Massey Hall” which was a live album for what many consider the greatest concert in history.  The concert featured Dizzy, Charlie, Bud Powell, Mingus and Roach himself.

In addition to being a great musician, Max was also very involved in the Civil Rights movement and created pieces of music for various causes.  He was also prolific, continuing to perform and record for a very long time.

Unfortunately, Max passed away on August 16.  It is a great loss to the world of Jazz.

So, look for Max Roach when you look for something to add to your music collection.  You won’t be disappointed.

POSTED IN: Chicago, jazz, records