The Genius of Max Roach Class 1 Instructors Seton Hawkins Jerome Jennings Class 1, January 18: The Drumming Style of Max Roach Tonight we explore the drumming innovations of Max Roach by diving into his groundbreaking efforts in establishing modern drum language, and shaping the sounds of BeBop, Cool Jazz, Hard Bop, Free Jazz, and more! Notes and Music We open by hearing and seeing the solo drum wizardry of Max Roach, as we then frame his life and career. ●
The Drum Also Waltzes ○ Max Roach (d) ○ Recorded October 14, 1965
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Mr. Hi Hat ○ Max Roach (d) ○ 1994
Max Roach cited figures like Papa Jo Jones and Sid Catlett as some of his chief inspirations, and Roach’s early gigs include lengthy work in big bands of the day, playing in a drum style we associate with the Swing Era. In hearing Papa Jo Jones, we can understand what the 1930s and early 1940s style of drumming was considered to be, and we can then hear how Roach builds upon these ideas to establish a new approach. ●
The Jitters ○ Count Basie And His Orchestra ■ Buck Clayton, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Al Killian, Ed Lewis (tp) Dan Minor, Dicky Wells, Ed Cuffee (tb) Tab Smith (as,sop,arr) Earl Warren (as) Don Byas, Buddy Tate (ts) Jack Washington (as,bar) Count Basie (p) Freddie Green (g) Walter Page (b) Jo Jones (d) ○ Recorded January 28, 1941
By the mid-1940s, Max Roach becomes one of, if not the, pioneering figures of BeBop drumming. Working alongside luminaries like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, Roach would shift how the drummer approached time keeping. What’s more, he went even further by reconsidering what the drummer’s role in the band should be. ●
Koko ○ Charlie Parker's Reboppers ■ Dizzy Gillespie (tp,p) Charlie Parker (as) Curly Russell (b) Max Roach (d) ○ Recorded November 26, 1945
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Dizzy Atmosphere ○ Charlie Parker (as) Miles Davis (tp) Duke Jordan (p) Tommy Potter (b) Max Roach (d) ○ Live at the Three Deuces, March 31, 1948 ○ Note: YouTube clip is slightly shorter than the clip we’ll play in class
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Salt Peanuts ○ Dizzy Gillespie (tp) Charlie Parker (as) Bud Powell (p) Charles Mingus (b) Max Roach (d) ○ Live at Massey Hall, May 15, 1953
Roach’s musical imagination and vision lead him to continue his studies by enrolling at the Manhattan School of Music in 1950 to study classical percussion. During this time, he also begins to experiment with new approaches to playing that will ultimately help forge a style often called Hard Bop. Roach’s pairing with the trumpet phenom Clifford Brown in a co-led quintet would, in its short tenure, prove to be one of the most influential ensembles of the 1950s. ●
I'll Remember April ○ Clifford Brown/Max Roach Quintet ■ Clifford Brown (tp) Sonny Rollins (ts) Richie Powell (p,celeste-1) George Morrow (b) Max Roach (d) ○ February 16/17, 1956
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Blue 7 ○ Sonny Rollins Quartet ■ Sonny Rollins (ts) Tommy Flanagan (p) Doug Watkins (b) Max Roach (d) ○ June 22, 1956
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Shirley ○ Max Roach Plus Four ■ Booker Little (tp) George Coleman (ts) Eddie Baker (p) Bob Cranshaw (b) Max Roach (d) ○ June 3, 1958
Max Roach’s drumming innovations never ceased, nor did his restless imagination. As the 1960s dawned, Roach would stretch even further into freer approaches to playing, while also more explicitly using his art as a voice in the Civil Rights movement. His work with his collaborator and then-wife Abbey Lincoln stand as an incredible testament to their artistry and integrity. ●
Triptych: Prayer, Protest, Peace ○ Abbey Lincoln (vcl) Max Roach (d) ○ September 6, 1960
Next week - we will explore Roach’s work as a bandleader and also discuss his legacy. We’ll also listen to later choral projects of his, as well as his percussion ensemble M’Boom, and dive into his larger and more expansive works.