I know, I know. I’ve been delinquent in my jazz studies. There are a few musicians that I should have checked out long ago. I will keep their names to myself for now, but the one guy who I am listening to all day today is Max Roach. I’m “putting on” a bunch of albums of his (on my favorite streaming service) and checking out as much as I can.

I like hearing the artists that influenced my favorite musicians. I love to hear what made THEM get excited. When I heard that Tony Williams loved Max, I kept that in the back of my mind until I saw this photo. Tony is by far, my all time favorite drummer. When I saw Max play with his group M’Boom a S.O.B.’s back in the mid 90’s here in New York, Max acknowledged his friend and fellow jazz master Tony Williams who was watching in the audience. I was, at the time, a huge fan and later sat right next to Tony at Birdland to watch him play before he died in 1997.

For those who don’t know, at Birdland, you can sit at the bar for a relatively low price. At the time, his drum set was stage left right near the bar. I was in heaven all night because I could see what he was doing. I still cannot figure him out, which is why I absolutely love him.

But, Max? Man, he is one of the giants of be-bop. Give me a day, week, month, or year to absorb me some Max Roach and I’ll get back to you!

The one think I do notice already is that, like so many of us black folk back then, he was a sharp dresser. Class!!

 

Yes, class is in session with me right now. Gotta go.