Name a favorite Max Roach recording

[Peter Friedman]

Roach is a drummer and artist I give the highest respect. I do have a problem connecting "emotionally" with him. He usually sounds cold to me.

Chuck, you have expressed my exact viewpoint.

Philly Joe Jones and Art Blakey are both drummers that emotionally move me in a way that Max Roach does not.

[jeffcrom]

Roach is a drummer and artist I give the highest respect. I do have a problem connecting "emotionally" with him. He usually sounds cold to me.

Chuck, you have expressed my exact viewpoint.

Philly Joe Jones and Art Blakey are both drummers that emotionally move me in a way that Max Roach does not.

Just goes to show how everyone hears/feels music differently. I've never heard/felt Roach's music as cold or unemotional; on the contrary, it's always been tremendously exciting to me. I love Philly Joe and Blakey, too, but the latter's playing does seem kind of bombastic to me at times.

Let me also add that my favorite moments of Roach with Bird are his eight-bar solos on the two takes of Klact-oveeseds-tene - abstract, yet logical.

[felser]

Roach is a drummer and artist I give the highest respect. I do have a problem connecting "emotionally" with him. He usually sounds cold to me.

Chuck, you have expressed my exact viewpoint.

Philly Joe Jones and Art Blakey are both drummers that emotionally move me in a way that Max Roach does not.

I never saw Philly Joe, but saw Roach and Blakey a couple of times each, and I understand and agree with what is being said here. And their projected stage personalities also showed the same differentiations. Blakey was very warm and engaging, wonderful stories and such from the bandstand. Roach said little, letting the music speak. Blakey was extroverted in his presence and his playing, Roach was introspective in more ways. Blakey also seemed more and more to be into developing and leading younger and younger musicians later in his career, where Roach seemed to feel comfortable sticking for years with the same core of seasoned pros (C. Bridgewater and the two great Philly guys, Odean Pope and Tyrone Brown).

[JSngry]

Max was a marcher. Philly & Blakey were (each in their own ways), dancers.

You need both in this life.

[Chuck Nessa]

Max was a marcher. Philly & Blakey were (each in their own ways), dancers.

You need both in this life.

So, you are more militaristic than I.

My favorite "marcher" is Ed Blackwell. Can't think of a better "polar opposite".

[JSngry]

Max was a marcher. Philly & Blakey were (each in their own ways), dancers.

You need both in this life.

So, you are more militaristic than I.

Depends on the situation.

But I do think that Max the "marcher" of the 40s-70s was totally appropriate, necessary even. After that it often got to be "showtime", but it was well-earned.

Max was a marcher. Philly & Blakey were (each in their own ways), dancers.

You need both in this life.

My favorite "marcher" is Ed Blackwell. Can't think of a better "polar opposite".

Different type of marching!

[AndrewHill]

Don't recall if this one's been mentioned, but The Max Roach Trio featuring the Legendary Hasaan is definitely worth listening to. Quite frankly, Hasaan went in the background as soon as I started listening to what Roach was doing, which sounded like gestural splashes of improvised drumming that I've never quite heard like this before, and certainly not like anything I've heard Roach do on the other disks I have. For example, the track "Almost Like Me" finds Roach playing in between, through, behind and in front of Hasaan, if that makes any non-musician's sense. It floored me the first time I heard it. I could just listen to that kind of playing solo any day.

[P.L.M]

- MAX ROACH/ ANTHONY BRAXTON: ONE IN TWO TWO IN ONE (hatOLOGY)

- MAX ROACH & CECIL TAYLOR: HISTORIC CONCERTS (SOUL NOTE)

- MAX ROACH featuring ANTHONY BRAXTON: BIRTH AND REBITH (BLACK SAINT)

- PERCUSSION BITTER SWEET (IMPULSE)

- WE INSIST FREEDOM NOW (CANDID)

In this order. And the story of "coldness", that some speak about here, are not relevant for me.

I've some difficulties to imagine ART BLAKEY pairing with BRAXTON.

MAX ROACH opens the road to drummers like TONY WILLIAMS, JACK DeJOHNETTE and a lot of europeans drummers (LYTTON, OXLEY, LOVENS, JOHANSSON).

He was certainly a cerebral drummers.

Suit me perfectly.

Edited May 20, 2009 by P.L.M