Max Roach on drums at the Jazznote
Though Kenny Clarke is often credited as the inventor of bop drumming it is really Max Roach who established its singular voice among his contemporaries Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Bud Powell, and Thelonious Monk and provided perhaps the greatest influence on those that followed. THE ESSENTIAL drummer for Powell and Parker, he is virtually omnipresent on classic recordings, providing the restrain necessary for soloists to rise above "the thunder", and the creativity to provide intriguing passages between them. Rarely bombastic, Roach abandoned the typical 4/4 bass-pedal timekeeping repitition of his predecessors, opting instead for a "melodic drumming" approach, leading the pulse of the rhythml through the ride cymbal and exploring the drums for its deeper musical qualities in general.
Roots of a Legendary Drummer
Born January 10, 1925, in Brooklyn, New York, Roach was early on immersed in the church and it's music (his mother was a gospel singer), which would profoundly influence his music, particularly in the early sixties. Starting on the drums at age ten he began formal musical studies at the Manhattan School of Music and went straight to work with Charlie Parker at Clarke Monroe's Uptown House after completing school in 1942. He was also a regular at Minton's where he studied bop drum innovator, Kenny Clarke.
Making his recording debut on what many consider the very first "bop" ensemble recording, with Coleman Hawkins on the small Apollo label in February 1944, Roach was steadily employed that year with Dizzy Gillespie on 52nd Street, and later touring with Benny Carter in California (a group that included the young up-and-comer, J.J. Johnson, on trombone). He even played a short while with Duke Ellington that year. Back in New York City, Roach had an active 1945 gigging with the movers of the new bop movement: Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins, Allen Eager and countless others.
A regular with Charlie Parker's various groups (including a highly-reputed appearance at the Paris Jazz Festival in 1949) between 1946-53, Roach took part in some of bop's epic recordings. Spotlighted on the Blue Note "New Sounds" series of 10-inch records, Max Roach Quintet/Art Blakey & His Band (recorded May 15, 1949 but released only years later), Roach went on to take part in Miles Davis' groundbreaking recording The Birth Of The Cool in 1949-50 and proved the quintessential drummer for Bud Powell on some of the pianist's trio sessions for Verve (Feb.'49, Feb.'50, Dec.'54) as well as the epic May 1, 1951 trio session for Blue Note which included the incredible piece, "Uno Poco Loco". In 1952 he co-founded Debut Records with Charles Mingus and was back in Europe touring with the star-packed ensembles included in the Jazz at the Philharmonic (JATP) series.
Roach Steps Out--Together with Clifford Brown
Back in the US Roach recorded his debut session as leader, Max Roach Quartet, Featuring Hank Mobley for his and Mingus' Debut Records label in April 1953, a session particularly significant as it marks the recording debut of both tenor Mobley and pianist Walter Davis, Jr. (both would feature in different versions of The Jazz Messengers). Actually comprised of two sessions, that of a septet featuring altoist Gigi Gryce among others, and a quartet, particular highlights include Parker's "Chi-chi" and Roach's solos "Drum Conversation" and (added to the CD resissue) "Drum Conversation, Pt. 2".
On May 15, 1953 the legendary Quintet of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charlie Mingus, and Max Roach, perform and record (for Debut Records) Jazz at Massey Hall in Toronto, Canada.
In 1954 Roach is playing with Howard Rumsey at his legendary Lighthouse, the West Coast jazz hotspot, and recording with it's All-Stars. While there he was preparing to put together a band to take on tour. Thus began another legendary association, this time with the phenomenal new talent, trumpeter Clifford Brown, who had been recommended to Roach years earlier by Dizzy Gillespie. Together with bassist George Morrow and the underrated talents of tenorist Harold Land (later replaced by Sonny Rollins) and pianist Richie Powell, Bud Powell's younger brother, the Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet went on to record some startling albums for the Emarcy label. But, like his association with Charlie Parker, it was doomed to a tragic ending. In the Spring of '56 a car accident took the lives of Brown, Powell, and Powell's wife on their way to a gig in Chicago.
Beyond Brown--the Plus Four
The mid-fifties were an understandably hard time for Roach. The deaths of promising young trumpet sensation, Clifford Brown, and maturing pianist, Richie Powell, brought an end to the Brown-Roach quintet. The year before, his old associate, Charlie Parker, died. Nevertheless, Roach carried on strong as ever, forming a new quintet, Max Roach Plus Four and began (in 1957) to instruct summers courses at the School of Jazz in Lenox, Massachussetts.
Only months after the deaths of Brown and Richie Powell premiered his new quintet on the appropriately titled album Max Roach Plus Four, recorded October 12, 1956. A transition album of sorts it blends the former quintet, keeping tenor Sonny Rollins and bassist George Morrow, and adding Kenny Dorham on trumpet and pianist Ray Bryant. On the CD reissue, clocking in at just under an hour, highlights include Roach's heavy soloing on "Dr. Free-zee" as well as a delicate interpretation of the classic, "Body and Soul."
December, 1956--Roach and Sonny Rollins appear on Thelonious Monk's classic, Brilliant Corners. Roach even plays tympany on "Bemsha Swing".
Late the following year (December 23, 1957) Roach and his Plus Four recorded Plays Charlie Parker, an album distinguished by it's absence of piano, the first of several such occurances. Again, Dorham holds trumpet duties, while Rollins is replaced on several tracks by either Hank Mobley or future mainstay, George Coleman on tenor. Understandably, given Roach's intimate familiarity with much of the material, the performances on this session meet appropriately high standards.
June of the following year Roach Plus Four recorded On the Chicage Scene which has not been reissued on CD yet but is a strong representation of what would be Roach's amazing ability to assemble brilliant lineup, for this album catches the debut of a 20 year old Booker Little on trumpet (see bio below), who is prominently featured. As the original EmArcy LP barely touches over a half hour it is our hope that some extra material, up til now unreleased, is tagged on to it's eventual reissue. Also yet to be reissued is Max Roach Plus Four at Newport, recorded the following month, which captures some brilliant quintet work (with Ray Draper's tuba replacing piano!), particularly a strong redition of "A Night In Tunisia".
In the 1960's Roach became increasingly active in the pursuit of civil rights. In 1961 he went so far as to disrupt a Miles Davis/Gil Evans concert held in benefit of the Africa Relief Foundation when he marched to the foot of the stage bearing a "Freedom Now" placard. And of course, this sentiment would be evident in his recordings.
Recently reissued by Impulse is the choral-laden, It's Time, recorded February, 1962. Again, Abbey Lincoln appears as well as an all-star lineup (trumpeter Richard Williams, Julian Priester on trombone, tenor Clifford Jordan, pianist Mal Waldron and bassist Art Davis) which is subsequently buried beneath a chorus conducted by Coleridge Perkinson.
Since the 1970s, Roach has been bringing drums to the forefront, performing solo around the world, founding the ten-piece percussion orchestra, M'Boom, in 1970, and experimenting with new ensembles, mixed media collaborations and performance art.
In the late seventies Roach was also frequently present on avant-garde recordings by such talents as Cecil Taylor and Archie Shepp, later still even recording with a rapper long before the jazz/hip-hop craze took hold, all the while proving himself ready to adapt, yet steadfast in his bop roots.
In the 1980s, Roach played off a variation of the "with Strings" by combining his regular quartet (Odean Pope, Cecil Bridgewater and Tyrone Brown) with the Uptown String Quartet (which includes his daughter Maxine on viola). Later still he composed a concerto for drum soloist and symphony orchestra, "Festival Journey".
The last survivor of the great founders of bop, Max Roach has done it all and still continues to do it today while still remaining true to his roots. Throughout, Roach is always Roach.
Most impressive of his solo outtings is his leader debut only months after his debut on record. Booker Little 4 (1958) has essentially the same lineup on the first six tracks as Roach's Plus Four (Coleman , Art Davis , Roach) but with the addition of Tommy Flanagan on keys. The second two tracks are essentially long jam sessions which include among others Wynton Kelly and Phineas Newborn (p), Louis Smith (t), and Roy Haynes on drums.
On Deeds, Not Words (recorded September, '58) the regular quintet, still with tuba rather than piano, has bass legend Oscar Pettiford keeping quintet bassist Art Davis company. A straight reissue of the original Riverside LP, Roach is in especially fine form on his unaccompanied drum piece, "Conversation."
As if to prepare for a new phase, Roach broke up the Plus Four and started 1960 with the recording of Long As You're Living, on February 5. An obscure recording, it's an important document as it features the then-unknown talents of brothers Stanley and Tommy Turrentine on tenor and trumpet respectively, as well as the trombone talents of Julian Priester. Again, Roach is featured on a memorable version of "A Night in Tunisia", as well as the not-surprisingly percussive vehicles, "Drum Talk" and "Drum Conversations". Though there were a number of similar sessions this is the only one to have been reissued by Enja so far.
Years of Protest--the '60's
The We Insist! Freedom Now Suite sessions of Autumn 1960 for the Candid label, a seven-part collaboration with Oscar Brown Jr.,
includes African percussionist Olatunja, old friend Coleman Hawkins (on "Driva' Man"), and the first of several collaborations with the young singer, Abbey Lincoln (to whom Roach was married from 1962-70). As the title suggests, the album is protest in theme; nevertheless, a strong musical statement as well, with a particularly impressive Roach-Lincoln duo, "Tryptich: Prayer/Protest/Peace". This would be the first of several works mixing solos and voices.
The following year Roach continued in a similar vein with his Percussion Bitter Sweet for Impulse (recorded August, 1961). Tightly orchestrated, this album has an expansive percussion ensemble along with trumpeter Booker Little, trombonist Julian Priester, Eric Dolphy on alto, bass clarinet and flute, tenorman Clifford Jordan, pianist Mal Waldron and bassist Art Davis. Abbey Lincoln appears on two tracks, the stronger of the pair being "Mendacity" supplemented by a beautiful solo by Dolphy.
Sept. 17, 1962, Roach, Charlie Mingus and Duke Elligton record Money Jungle, a fantastic collection of modern trio versions of Ellington compositions. The CD reissue, usually listed under Mingus, has been fleshed out with a number of alternate takes bringing it to just under an hour.
Post-Bop Roach
