Max Roach

Max Roach was born in Newland, North Carolina in 1924. By his early teens he was already playing drums in churches and dance halls around town. He moved to New York City in 1942, and within a couple years found himself in the middle of the bebop revolution, playing alongside Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. That early work with Parker and Gillespie established his reputation as a drummer who could handle the new music's speed and rhythmic complexity.

In the 1950s he started leading his own groups, working with musicians like Sonny Rollins and Bud Powell. His playing became known for its intricate patterns and political edge. He was a vocal advocate for civil rights, and in 1960 co-founded the experimental collective "We Insist!" The album of the same name mixed jazz with spoken word from African American poets, drawing attention to racial injustice. Songs like "Driva Man" from that period carried that social commentary directly into the music.

Roach kept playing and recording for decades, working through personal struggles while maintaining his place as one of jazz's most thoughtful and technically gifted drummers. He died in 2007.