Max Roach, a dazzling drummer who was a founder of modern jazz and rewrote the rules of drumming in the 1940’s, died this week at the age of 83. Mr. Roach was one of the founding architects of bebop, the harmonically advanced music of the 1940s that helped jazz change from dance-hall entertainment to a concert-stage art. He changed the drummer from a timekeeper and a supporting player into a full-fledged member of the front line.

In many recordings with such musical greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk -- including a 1953 performance (we have it on CD at our library!) that has become known as "the greatest jazz concert ever" -- Mr. Roach pioneered an approach to jazz drumming that remains the standard to this day. Mr. Roach also incorporated elements of other artistic styles including African and Asian music, dance, poetry and hip-hop. His versatility extended from leading performances with as many as 100 percussion instruments on stage to playing solos using only the high-hat, a pair of cymbals mounted on a metal stand and worked with a pedal.

We have a multitude of jazz recordings at our library. Some recommendations on the era described in this blog are:

The bop session [sound recording] / Dizzy Gillespie ... [et. al.];

Dizzy's big 4 [sound recording] / Dizzy Gillespie ... [et al.];

Brilliant corners [sound recording] / Thelonious Monk.

You may also wish to take a look at some of the books about jazz at our library including:

Jazz : a history of America's music / by Geoffrey C. Ward ; based on a documentary film by Ken Burns written by Geoffrey C. Ward ; with a preface by Ken Burns;

Jazz on record : the first sixty years / by Scott Yarrow;

Classic jazz / Scott Yanow;

All music guide to jazz : the definitive guide to jazz music / edited by Vladimir Bogdanov, Chris Woodstra, and Stephen Thomas Erlewine;

The Penguin guide to jazz recordings / Richard Cook and Brian Morton.

And perhaps you would like to take a look at such websites as Jazz Greats, Drummerworld and The Jazz Files to read up on Max Roach and many other jazz greats.