At the age of 16, he played with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. He went on to make landmark recordings with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk. He’s considered one of the most important drummers in history. And he would have turned 100 years old this week.
Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes is a new film about the musician by award-winning filmmakers Sam Pollard and (our very own!) Ben Shapiro. Today on the podcast, we sit down with the filmmakers to discuss the life and music of Max Roach, a career that spanned decades. Roach played with music legends such Miles Davis and Coleman Hawkins, created a percussion group called M’Boom, and by the nineties, was composing for theater and dance companies — even performing in a hip hop concert with his godson Fab 5 Freddy. We have Roach’s expressive approach to drumming to credit for drum solos in modern music.
Decades of research went into creating this film. Listen to the conversation below.
