The American drummer and bandleader Max Roach (1924-2007) was one of the most innovative musicians of Modern Jazz. Together with his colleagues Kenny Clarke and Art Blakey he revolutionized the art of drumming in the 1940s and played with all of the pioneers of Bebop: Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, and many others. He also graduated in composition and music theory from the Manhattan School of Music.
He participated in the recording of "Birth of the Cool" with Miles Davis and in 1952 founded “Debut” with bassist Charles Mingus, probably the first independent record label founded by musicians. The Clifford Brown-Max Roach quintet, especially when Sonny Rollins took over the tenor part, was one of the most important bands of the 1950s. After Brown's death in an accident, Roach founded a new ensemble with the Turrentine Brothers, whose quality is demonstrated on the albums “Parisian Sketches” and “Quiet As It's Kept”, which can also be found on this box-set.
Roach was also a great talent scout, and among the greats he discovered were trumpeter Booker Little and singer Abbey Lincoln, both of whom can be heard on the album “We Insist! Freedom Now Suite”, an important artistic statement, originally planned with Oscar Brown Jr. as something like a Jazz soundtrack to the (black) civil rights movement in the US. Roach was one of the most politically active jazz musicians and expressed this in his concept albums and titles again and again.
Tracklist
CD 1
■ CLIFFORD BROWN &
MAX ROACH QUINTET
1. Delilah (Victor Young) 8.06
2. Parisian Thoroughfare (Bud Powell) 7.19
3. The Blues Walk (Clifford Brown) 4.03
4. Daahoud (Clifford Brown) 6.46
5. Joy Spring (Clifford Brown) 4.03
6. Jordu (Duke Jordan) 6.51
7. What Am I Here For? (Duke Ellington) 3.08
Clifford Brown (tp) Max Roach (drs)
Harold Land (ts) Richie Powell (p)
George Morrow (b)
Recorded in Los Angeles in August 2, 3 and 6, 1954
■ CLIFFORD BROWN &
MAX ROACH - STUDY IN BROWN
8. Cherokee (Ray Noble) 5.42
9. Jacqui (Richie Powell) 5.08
10. Swingin' (Clifford Brown) 2.50
11. Lands End (Harold Land) 4.54
12. George's Dilemma (Clifford Brown) 5.34
13. Sandu (Clifford Brown) 4.54
14. Gerkin for Perkin (Clifford Brown) 2.54
15. If I Love Again (Jack Murray, Ben Oakland) 3.21
16. Take the 'A' Train (Billy Strayhorn) 4.17
Clifford Brown (tp) Max Roach (drs)
Harold Land (ts) Richie Powell (p)
George Morrow (b)
Recorded in New York City on February 23-25, 1955
Total Time 80.01
CD 2
■ JAZZ IN 3/4 TIME
1. Blues Waltz (Max Roach) 6.35
2. Valse Hot (Sonny Rollins) 14.20
3. I'll Take Romance (Oscar Hammerstein II, Ben Oakland) 4.32
4. Little Folks (Max Roach) 5.36
5. Lover (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) 5.35
6. The Most Beautiful Girl in the World (Hart, Rodgers) 5.39
Max Roach (drs) Kenny Dorham (tp) Sonny Rollins (ts)
Ray Bryant (p, track 6) Bill Wallace (p, 1-5) George Morrow (b)
Recorded in New York City on September 19, 1956
and in Hollywood, California on March 18 , 20 and 21, 1957
Total Time 42.29
CD 3
■ CLIFFORD BROWN &
MAX ROACH
- AT BASIN STREET
1. What Is This Thing Called Love? 7.40
(Cole Porter)
2. Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing 4.18
(Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster)
3. I'll Remember April 9.19
(Gene de Paul, Patricia Johnston, Don Raye)
4. Powell's Prances (Richie Powell) 3.32
5. Time (Richie Powell) 5.08
6. The Scene Is Clean (Tadd Dameron) 6.10
7. Gertrude´s Bounce (Richie Powell) 4.13
Clifford Brown (tp) Max Roach (drs)
Sonny Rollins (ts) Richie Powell (p)
George Morrow (b)
Recorded in January 4 and February 16-17, 1956
■ MAX ROACH + 4
- AT BASIN STREET
8. Ezz-Thetic (George Russell) 9.20
9. Dr. Free-Zee (Max Roach) 2.09
10. Just One of Those Things (Cole Porter) 7.21
11. Mr X. (Max Roach) 5.17
12. Body and Soul (Edward Heyman, 6.53
Robert Sour, Frank Eyton, Johnny Green)
13. Woody 'n You (Dizzy Gillespie) 6.55
Max Roach (drs) Kenny Dorham (tp)
Sonny Rollins (ts) Ray Bryant (p)
George Morrow (b)
Recorded in New York City on September 17
and 19, 1956
Total Time 78.18
CD 4
■ MAX ROACH + 4
- ON THE CHICAGO SCENE
1. Shirley (George Coleman) 6.41
2. My Old Flame 3.40
(Sam Coslow, Arthur Johnston)
3. Sporty (Bill Lee) 5.48
4. Stella by Starlight (Ned Washington, 4.21
Victor Young)
5. Stompin' at the Savoy (Benny Goodman, 2.53
Andy Razaf, Edgar Sampson, Chick Webb)
6. Memo to Maurice (Eddie Baker) 7.47
Max Roach (drs) Booker Little (tp)
George Coleman (ts) Eddie Baker (p)
Bob Cranshaw (b)
Recorded in Chicago on June 3, 1958
■ MAX ROACH + 4
- AT NEWPORT
7. La Villa (Kenny Dorham) 6.18
8. A Night in Tunisia 8.20
(Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Paparelli)
9. Minor Mode (Booker Little) 5.21
10. Tune-Up (Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson) 5.31
11. Love for Sale (Cole Porter) 9.58
Max Roach (drs) Booker Little (tp)
George Coleman (ts) Ray Draper (tuba)
Art Davis (b)
Recorded at Newport, Rhode Island on July 6, 1958
Total Time 66.42
CD 5
■ MAX
1. Crackle Hut (Owen Marshall) 5.50
2. Speculate (Kenny Dorham) 5.02
3. That Ole Devil Love 6.29
(Doris Fisher, Allan Roberts)
4. Audio Blues (Max Roach) 6.32
5. C.M. (Hank Mobley) 5.04
6. Four-X (Max Roach) 3.57
Max Roach (drs) Kenny Dorham (tp)
Hank Mobley (ts) Ramsey Lewis (p)
George Morrow (b)
Recorded in Chicago on January 14th, 1958
■ DEEDS NOT WORDS
7. You Stepped out of a Dream 7.48
(Nacio Herb Brown, Gus Kahn)
8. Filidé (Ray Draper) 7.08
9. It's You or No One 4.15
(Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne)
10. Jodie's Cha-Cha (Bill Lee) 4.58
11. Deeds, Not Words (Lee) 4.36
12. Larry-Larue (Booker Little) 5.13
13. Conversation (Max Roach) 3.51
Max Roach (drs) Booker Little (tp)
George Coleman (ts) Ray Draper (tuba)
Art Davis (b)
Recorded in New York City on September 4, 1958
Total Time 70.53
CD 6
■ MOON FACED AND
STARRY EYED
1. You're Mine, You 2.39
(Edward Heyman, Johnny Green)
2. Come Rain or Come Shine 3.16
(Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen)
3. Wild Is the Wind 3.15
(Dimitri Tiomkin, Ned Washington)
4. Speak Low (Kurt Weill, Ogden Nash) 2.50
5. I Concentrate on You (Cole Porter) 4.40
6. Moon Faced, Starry Eyed 2.52
(Weill, Langston Hughes)
7. Never Let Me Go 3.03
(Jay Livingston, Ray Evans)
8. Namely You (Gene de Paul, Mercer) 2.47
9. Never Leave Me (Gordon Jenkins) 6.43
Max Roach (drs) Tommy Turrentine (tp)
Julian Priester (tb) Stanley Turrentine (ts)
Ray Bryant (p) Bob Boswell (b)
Abbey Lincoln (voc, tracks 5 & 9)
Recorded in Chicago on October 9 and 10, 1959
■ AWARD WINNING DRUMMER
10. Tuba de Nod (Max Roach) 3.58
11. Milano (John Lewis) 5.12
12. Variations on the Scene 5.41
(George Coleman)
13. Pies of Quincy (Max Roach) 3.21
14. Old Folks 4.18
(Dedette Lee Hill, Willard Robison)
15. Sadiga (Coleman) 6.34
16. Gandolfo's Bounce (Booker Little) 5.43
Max Roach (drs) Booker Little (tp)
George Coleman (ts) Ray Draper (tuba)
Art Davis (b)
Recorded in New York City on November 4, 1958
Total Time 66.55
CD 7
■ ■ QUIET AS IT´S KEPT
1. Quiet as It's Kept (Bill Lee) 6.11
2. To Lady (Leon Mitchell) 6.07
3. Lotus Blossom (Kenny Dorham) 5.33
4. As Long as You're Living 5.55
(Julian Priester, Tommy Turrentine)
5. The More I See You 4.04
(Mack Gordon, Harry Warren)
6. "Juliano" (Priester) 5.43
Max Roach (drs) Tommy Turrentine (tp)
Julian Priester (tb) Stanley Turrentine (ts)
Bob Boswell (b)
Recorded in New York City on July 21, 1959
■ ABBEY LINCOLN &
THE RIVERSIDE ALL STARS
- THAT´S HIM
6. Strong Man (Oscar Brown, Jr.) 5.05
7. Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe 5.58
(Harold Arlen, E.Y. "Yip" Harburg)
8. My Man (Jacques Charles, 3.57
Channing Pollack, Albert Willemetz, Maurice Yvain)
9. Tender as a Rose (Phil Moore) 3.00
10. That's Him (Ogden Nash, Kurt Weill) 3.26
11. I Must Have That Man! 4.00
(Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh)
12. Porgy 4.27
(George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, DuBose Heyward)
13. When a Woman Loves a Man 4.29
(Bernie Hanighen, Gordon Jenkins, Johnny Mercer)
14. Don't Explain 6.41
(Arthur Herzog, Jr., Billie Holiday)
Abbey Lincoln (voc) Max Roach (drs)
Kenny Dorham (tp) Sonny Rollins (ts)
Wynton Kelly (p, bass 14)
Paul Chambers (b, except 14)
Recorded in New York City on October 28, 1957
Total Time 74.38
CD 8
■ PARISIAN SKETCHES
1. Parisian Sketches: The Tower / The Champs / The Caves / 17.09
The Left Bank / The Arch (Max Roach)
2. Nica (Sonny Clark) 4.46
3. Petit Déjeuner (Julian Priester) 4.05
4. Un Nouveau Complet (Tommy Turrentine) 3.23
5. Liberte (Max Roach) 6.25
Max Roach (drs) Tommy Turrentine (tp)
Julian Priester (tb) Stanley Turrentine (ts)
Bob Boswell (b)
Recorded in Paris on March1 and 2, 1960
Total Time 35.51
CD 9
■ PERCUSSION BITTER SWEET
1. Garvey's Ghost (Max Roach) 7.52
2. Mama (Max Roach) 4.50
3. Tender Warriors (Max Roach) 6.52
4. Praise for a Martyr (Max Roach) 7.10
5. Mendacity (Max Roach, C. Bayen) 8.54
6. Man from South Africa (Max Roach) 5.13
Max Roach (dr) Abbey Lincoln (voc, 1, 5)
Booker Little (tp) Julian Priester (tb)
Eric Dolphy (as, b-cl, fl) Clifford Jordan (ts)
Mal Waldron (p) Art Davis (b)
Carlos 'Potato' Valdez (conga: 1, 3, 6)
Carlos 'Totico' Eugenio (cow-bell, 1, 3, 6)
Recorded in New York City in August, 1961
■ WE INSIST ! FREEDOM
NOW SUITE
7. Driva Man (Max Roach, Oscar Brown) 5.15
8. Freedom Day (Roach, Brown) 6.07
9. Triptych: Prayer / Protest / Peace 8.06
(Roach)
10. All Africa (Roach, Brown) 8.05
11. Tears for Johannesburg (Roach) 9.42
Max Roach (drs) Abbey Lincoln (voc)
Booker Little (tp, 7, 8, 10, 11)
Julian Priester (tb, 7, 8, 11)
Walter Benton (ts, 7, 8, 11)
Coleman Hawkins (ts, 7)
James Schenk (b, 7, 8, 11)
Michael Olatunji (congas, voc, 7, 9)
Raymond Mantilla, Tomas du Vall (perc, 10, 11)
Recorded in New York City on August 31
and September 6, 1960
Total Time 78.09
CD 10
■ IT´S TIME
1. It´s Time (Max Roach) 6.44
2. Another Valley (Max Roach) 8.46
3. Sunday Afternoon (Max Roach) 6.15
4. Living Room (Max Roach) 7.30
5. The Profit (Max Roach) 7.32
6. Lonesome Lover (Max Roach) 7.02
Max Roach (drs) Richard Williams (tp)
Julian Priester (tb) Clifford Jordan (ts)
Mal Waldron (p) Art Davis (b)
Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (choir conductor)
Abbey Lincoln (voc, 6)
Recorded in New York City on February 15, 26 & 27, 1962
Total Time 43.52
Details
Genre: Jazz
Set content: 10
EAN: 4053796004598