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MAX ROACH (1924 – 2007)
Max Roach was born in North Carolina but grew up in Brooklyn, NewYork. His early
exposure to music came through the church, but he found himself drawn to the drums from
a very early age. He was still a teenager when he began to play with such jazz masters as
Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Coleman Hawkins. Before the age of 30, he had already
become one of the seminal drummers of the 20th century, whose breakthroughs influenced
several subsequent generations. His early successes as a sideman led him to even great
achievements as a bandleader in his own right starting in the 1950s. The quartet he led
together with trumpeter Clifford Brown was one of the most successful and durable of all
jazz combos. But Roach was never content to rest on his laurels. Continuing to invent,
explore, and push against barriers of all kinds, he consistently challenged himself to ever-
renewed relevance and musical invention.
Always among the most socially engaged of jazz artists, Roach was an inspiring figure both
to the Civil Rights movement and to the Black Power movement that developed in the
1960s. His “We Insist! Freedom Now Suite” (1960) was one of the most powerful artistic
statements to come out of that milieu and is consistently cited as one of the key recordings
in the history of jazz music. His collaborations with other artists ran from classic jazz combos
to full orchestras; vocal choruses and inventive string ensembles, including the Uptown String
Quartet and the Double Quartet with his daughter Maxine; large all-percussion groups,
improvisational duos with avant-garde adventurers such as Cecil Taylor, Archie Shepp and
Anthony Braxton and major dance productions with such figures as Alvin Ailey and Bill T.
Jones. His theatrical partnerships embraced playwrights as diverse asWilliam Shakespeare and
Amiri Baraka, Sam Shepard andWole Soyinka.
Roach’s contributions went well beyond the strictly musical. Ever cognizant of the
exploitation of black musicians, he was never hesitant to speak out against injustice. He was
a leading businessman, co-founding (with Charles Mingus) the Debut Records label,
operating his own publishing and production companies (Milma, MR Productions), even
organizing alternative festivals and venues to assure the fair treatment of participating
musicians. He was a dedicated teacher, serving from 1972 on the music faculty of the
University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and generously sharing his insights and experiences
via lectures and public appearances worldwide. An adventurous creator, a tireless performer,
an articulate spokesman, a passionate educator, Roach was recognized as one of the great
American artists and received numerous honors and awards, including the MacArthur
Foundation’s “genius” grant.
The following fine prints from the artist’s estate, lots 50-54, reflect Roach’s influences,
collaborations and friendships with many contemporary visual artists.