"Max Roach and Kenny Clarke instigated a revolution in jazz drumming that persists to this day; instead of the swing approach of spelling out the pulse with the bass drum, Roach shifted the emphasis to the ride cymbal. The result was a lighter, far more flexible texture, giving drummers more freedom to explore the possibilities of their drum kits and drop random "bombs" on the bass drum, while allowing bop virtuosos on the front lines to play at faster speeds. To this base, Roach added sterling qualities of his own -- a ferocious drive, the ability to play a solo with a definite storyline, mixing up pitches and timbres, the deft use of silence, the dexterity to use the brushes as brilliantly as the sticks. He would use cymbals as gongs and play mesmerizing solos on the tom-toms, creating atmosphere as well as keeping the groove pushing forward." ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
Max Roach was born in North Carolina in 1924 but moved to New York as a child. Max's mother was a gospel singer, which became some of his first musical experiences as a drummer. After graduating from the Manhattan School of Music in 1942 he quickly began sitting in as the house drummer at Monroe's Uptown House and participated in jam sessions there. It was his playing at Minton's with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie that led to the development of the bop style. Max joined Coleman Hawkins in 1943 and made his recording debut with the saxophonist before joining quintets led by Dizzy (1944) and Bird (1945-53).
Max quickly became the most in-demand and influential drummer of the classic bop period. He also worked with artists such as Stan Getz, Louis Jordan, Henry "Red" Allen and even took part in Miles' nonet recordings along with Kenny Clarke, who was a huge influence on Max. These recordings were later released under the title "Birth of the Cool".
In the 1950's Roach set up Debut records with Charles Mingus, played at the famous Massey Hall Concert of '53 with Bird, Dizzy, Powell and Mingus, and in 1956 co-led a group with Clifford Brown that defined the entire hard-bop movement. Tragically, a car accident claimed the lives of Brown and pianist Richie Powell in 1956. Even though their deaths devastated Roach, he kept the quintet together with Kenny Dorham and Sonny Rollins as the lead horns. For the remainder of the '50s, he would continue to use major talents like Booker Little, George Coleman and Hank Mobley in his small groups, even dropping the piano entirely now and then.
During the late 1950s and early 1960s Roach made a series of recordings that prefigured developments associated with free jazz. In the 1960s Roach became an articulate spokesman and activist in the black-American cultural arts movement. This was never more evident than on the "Freedom Now!" album (1960), which featured music by Roach and lyrics by Oscar Brown, Jr. protesting the racist history of America and its music. Roach continued in the 60's to make albums ranging in repertoire from "Percussion Bitter Sweet" (1962) to the great trio album with Duke Ellington and Mingus, "Money Jungle" (1962). His quintets in the late 60's featured artists such as Freddie Hubbard, Cecil Bridgewater and Cedar Walton.
The 70's saw the formation of M'Boom, a percussion ensemble of varying size and personnel performing works written for percussion. He also continued to pass on his vast knowledge of percussion by joining the faculty at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Roach also appeared throughout the 70's and 80's in a series of concert duets coupled with artists such as Dizzy Gillespie and avant-garde musicians Archie Shepp, Cecil Taylor, Anthony Braxton and Abdullah Ibrahim.
Roach received a fellowship from the MacArthur foundation in 1988. This prestigious fellowship is awarded annually to extraordinarily talented individuals who discover, create and contribute to American scientific and cultural life. His other distinguished recognitions include an "Obie" award for his theatrical scores for playwright Sam Shepard's "Shepard Sets", an Honorary Doctorate in Music from the New England Conservatory of Music, University of Maryland, Eastman School of Music, and The Manhattan School of Music, as well as an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from Wesleyan University. Max Roach was awarded the highest cultural honor in France when he was named Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in 1989. He is a two-time winner of the French "Grand Prix du Disque" and inductee to the Hall of Fame of the Percussive Arts society. He was also honored in 1990 by the members of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts with their Samuel Rosenbaum Award. Presented in Boston at the 53rd conference of the Guild, the Rosenbaum Award was presented to Max in recognition of his lifelong dedication to music education and for promoting the ideals to which the Guild and its membership are dedicated. In 1998 Roach became an inaugural recipient of the American Drummers Achievement Awards along with fellow drumming greats Louie Bellson, Roy Haynes and Elvin Jones.
Roach holds a significant position in the history of jazz. His imaginative performances as a soloist and his mature technique of improvisation, which is based on the use of deft interaction of pitch and timbral variety, subtleties of silence and sound, rhythmic and metrical contrast, and a refreshingly flexible approach to the fixed pulse, establish him as one of the most outstanding and innovative drummers of his time.
