Max Roach
Modern Drummer is the world’s most widely read drum magazine, is dedicated entirely to the art of drumming and caters to the needs of amateur, semi-pro, and professional drummers.
Max Roach Excerpted from the June 1982 issue
Max Roach is a vital link in the chain of drum history. He was recognized as the man who pioneered a modern drumming style for his work with bebop giants like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. In the ‘50s and…
Why Influencers Matter
The Drummers Who Forged Charlie Watts’ Style As a teenager in early ‘50s London, Charlie Watts discovered the American jazz art form and was transformed. He became obsessed with anything and everything regarding the American jazz movement—including the fashion and…
Max Roach on Promotion of Dummers
When drummers are playing, horn players should color the way we color behind them. To me, it’s a matter of imagination, and it also has something to do with humility. Drummers have a great deal of humility in order to…
Avenues to Excellence
15 MD Cover Artists Reveal the Big Ideas That Put Them on the Road to Success The abundance of educational material online, as well as great teachers to mold your passion and enthusiasm into technique and musicality, are massively beneficial…
Stan Levey
Like most other young, searching musicians, Stan Levey became a dedicated disciple of the ideas of Gillespie and Parker.
Dueling Drumsets
Back in the ’50s, Jazz At The Philharmonic presented a “drum battle” featuring Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich. To my knowledge, it was the first time they had appeared together. It was an exciting event, and it generated great interest…
The 50 Greatest Drummers of All Time
Whose playing endures through the decades? Whose music do we reach for when we want new ideas? When we want to practice? When we want to laugh? Who inspires and delights us most? TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO…
Do Self-Taught Drummers Play Better?
Some well-known drummers, who have never taken lessons, play very well. Other well-known drummers, who have studied for years, also play very well. Drummers who have not studied sometimes tend to be critical of those who have. The following defensive…
Philly Joe Jones
In the early '50s, Tony Scott hired a young drummer from Philadelphia named Joe Jones. To avoid confusion with Count Basie's famous drummer (Jo Jones), Scott would introduce his drummer by saying, "This is the Joe Jones from Philly." TO…
Alan Dawson – Chops And Brains Equal A Boston Master
Dawson hears of Roach's praise midway through a lesson with one of the 30 students he teaches each week in the studio of his rambling split-level home in the Boston suburb of Lexington. "That's real nice of Max", he says…
Beyond Forever: Lenny White
Lenny White was born in Queens, N. Y. and travelled to Forever. Excuse the forced pun, but it was with Chick Corea's Return to Forever, that Lenny made the reputation that engendered his foray as a solo act."I got a…
Drum Soloist: Max Roach Transcription And Analysis
Max Roach's artistic development in the late 40's and early 50's made it clear that an evolutionary change had occurred in jazz drumming. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
Jazz Drummer's Workshop Metric Modulation
Among the many lessons to be learned from the playing of Max Roach is the concept of musicality in drumming. This is shown no more clearly than in his solo work, particularly in the fact that Max has almost always…
Max Roach: Back On The Bandstand
Max Roach remains the essential modern drummer. The quality of his work has been proclaimed world-wide as melodic, subtle and intensely musical. Over the last thirty years, jazz percussionists have studied and imitated Roach's unique style. TO READ THE FULL…
