Roach, Max (1924-2007), ranks among the most important drummers in jazz history. While still a teenager in the 1940’s, Roach became a major contributor to the jazz style called bebop. Roach developed a style that provided greater rhythmic flexibility and texture to jazz percussion. He was also an outstanding improviser. Roach led a number of significant jazz combos and composed several jazz works. He was an outspoken supporter of civil rights and taught jazz in music schools.
Maxwell Roach was born in New Land, North Carolina, on Jan. 10, 1924. He became active in the emerging bebop movement of the early 1940’s. Roach recorded with bebop pioneer Charlie Parker in the middle and late 1940’s. He also studied at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City at about the same time. Roach participated in the notable “Birth of the Cool” recordings led by trumpeter Miles Davis in 1949 and 1950. Roach was the co-leader of a quintet from 1954 to 1956 with trumpeter Clifford Brown that made many classic jazz recordings.
In 1960, Roach recorded We Insist! Freedom Now Suite (1960), which he composed with Oscar Brown, Jr. The work reflected Roach’s strong civil rights views. Roach also composed choral music, musical comedies, and film scores. From 1962 to 1970, Roach was married to jazz singer and civil rights activist Abbey Lincoln. In the 1980’s and 1990’s, Roach led jazz combos and small bands, including a percussion group called M’Boom. Roach taught at the School of Jazz in Lenox, Massachusetts, and at the University of Massachusetts. He died on Aug. 16, 2007.
