Thursday, August 16, 2007

MAX ROACH

And a third great artist has passed.

Max was to jazz drumming what Charlie Parker was to jazz saxaphone blowing. He changed it forever.

He was also a very beautiful man. I only encountered him a few times back in the day, but always dug him, up close or from afar. Thank God he left us with so many great recordings, and made it to eighty-three. One of the last of the original beboppers.

I quoted him in one of my early posts on this blog, and it's worth repeating:

"...if you're a humanitarian, which most artists are, instead of getting in a fight or breaking something up, you take it out on yourself. In fact, I would say that most creative people who are self-destructive are trying to protect other people from their outrage. If you live long enough, though, you learn you have to be a humanitarian with yourself as well as with everybody else."
—Max Roach in The Village Voice, Dec. 1979

3 comments:

Harryn Studios said...

well said Michael.
another great artist...and one of the last of the 'originals'.
Thank you for recalling the beautiful quote.
paul fr. PA

Jesse Wilson said...

Yes, I was watching the story on NY1. That is a nice quote to live by. Thanks for that.

Jesse

douglang said...

No more Quintet of the Year. Bird, Bud, Mingus, Diz and Max, all gone. It's an empty planet.