WEBmikey: Listening to Max

Latest Flickr

Latest Twitter


Listening to Max
9.01.2007 7:34 AM \| Link	A few weeks ago, one of my jazz drumming idols passed away, and even though I'm late in mentioning it, I thought I would take this chance to talk about the incredible Max Roach. I first heard Max when I was buying all the Verve Jazz Masters series CDs that I could, after becoming a jazz fan due to the influence of my drum teacher. Of course, I had heard many nameless drummers before, but when I heard Clifford Brown & Max Roach play in their quintet, it was the first time that I wanted to know exactly who was playing and to really listen to what they were doing! Max was one of the founders of bebop, along with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and so many others, but he was able to take that blazing tempo and make it something subtle and even relaxed. It seems like a lot of jazz newbies think of Buddy Rich when it comes to drums, but Buddy's style always seemed like brute force to me (everything is just one loud roll), while Max really made music with his sticks. Max showed me that everything, especially silence, can be another drum in the kit! I love listening to him trade fours, because he has the taste (and the humility) to let his short solos go by with empty spaces (such as on the classic Jordu, or his fantastic brush work on Joy Spring), along with just the right touch on a tom or his kick. In fact, it was by listening to Max that I learned the kick (bass drum) can work just like a tom, which sadly I'm still pretty bad at doing! His style also taught me about the important of keeping the hi-hat going - you can always his hear solid 2 and 4 no matter what else is going on, unlike some other drummers who seem to be too lazy to keep it going. Of course, he could really play some incredibly busy solos, too, but even those are filled with dynamics and finesse (something like The Blue Walk comes to mind). After the 1950s, Max went on to all kinds of other projects that I haven't really explored, since I'm so content with his bop masterpieces, but I hope to listen to more of his work someday. I can't think of any other jazz drummer I would rather sound like, and I'm happy he lived such a long life (83 years old!) and accomplished so much for the music I love. Labels: music


Blogger \| HaloScan \| Levelfield