I could be accused of name dropping to say I knew Max Roach, the great jazz drummer who just passed away at 83. But I did. At least I met him a couple of times. It’s so long ago, it’s amazing I still remember, but then, why wouldn’t I? He was Max Roach – a legend in his time, with Kenny Clarke and Art Blakey, the man who brought bebop to the drums or vice-versa.
In those days, circa 1960, I was dabbling at the drums myself and taking lessons from a slightly older white Jewish boy named Steve Gordon who knew Max. He took me to meet Max where the drum legend was playing… I think it was Birdland, because I was way underage and they allowed early teens in then. I don’t have a vivid memory of the club… but I do have a vivid memory of Max… and of his girl friend/wife (can’t recall which she was at that point) who was with him – singer Abbey Lincoln. No way a heterosexual male would not remember her! This was a few years before the Black Power era and they were both very friendly to me as an innocent young white kid/wannabe beatnik. Steve Gordon and I bumped into them again at the club a few months later and they hailed us as old friends. I don’t think I was ever more star-struck in my life. Viva Max!
Here is a Max Roach story. I was showing some photos to a childhood friend whom I hadn
Surprised that there aren’t more Max fans here, Roger. Max was living history yet he always stayed fresh by keeping an open mind toward the up and comers. In fact when I first started listening to this type of music in the late 70s, Max was still pushing the envelope by forming the percussion ensemble M’Boom (for which he got an lp released on Columbia along with at least one recording with his quartet), duets with Anthony Braxton, Cecil Taylor, Abdullah Ibrahim and Archie Shepp, and a double quartet release with his daughter’s string quartet. At his concerts, Max clearly understood his position in the musical hierarchy and worked it well.
His experience with Alzheimers should show that even keeping very active in music is no guarantee of immunity from the harsh fate. Nobody should be surprised by his demise but that still doesn’t remove the sense of a major loss.