Harry´s Blog

Max

Max has left us at the age of 83.
He started off with Dizzy and Bird
in the Forties.
Bebop was the name of the game.
Then Max went on into the Realm of Cool
and he never stopped moving.

Here are he is in his own words:
“You can’t write the same book twice.
Though I’ve been in historic musical situations,
I can’t go back and do that again.
And though I run into
artistic crises, they keep my life interesting.”

Isn’t that the case for all artists?
You have to move forward,
and if you can’t do that,
the crisis is a lasting one.

As Max said, he had crises,
but they were short lived,
for Max was a genius at the kit,
as well as a genius musically speaking.

The list of musicians Max played with
reads like Who’s Who in jazz.

He even duelled the fastest drummer
this world has ever seen,
Buddy Rich by name
and Max did pretty well.
Let’s say, he pushed Buddy
like no one before or after him.

And here’s a closing quote by Max:
“I always resented the role of a drummer
as nothing more than a subservient figure.”

Yes, he spoke for all drummers,
and we’ll all miss the great Max Roach.

from Swing Men and Women
by Herbert Kuhner