Title Page | Collection Summary | Biographical/Organizational Note | Scope and Content | Arrangement
Biographical Note
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1924, Jan. 10 | Born, Newland, North Carolina, to Alphonso and Cressie Roach |
| 1928 | Moved to Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York |
| 1934 | Began drumming at Concord Baptist Church Bible School, where his mother sang in the chorus and aunt was pianist. Through them, Roach learned to read music |
| 1942 | Substituted for Sonny Greer with the Duke Ellington Orchestra at the Paramount Theatre Graduated from Boys High School |
| 1943 | Recorded "Woody n'you" with Coleman Hawkins Performed with the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet at the Onyx Club, helping to develop the bebop style |
| 1944 | Attended concert by sitarist Ravi Shankar, inspiring Roach to perform solo on drums |
| 1945 | Recorded with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie |
| 1948 | Began playing with Miles Davis |
| 1949 | Participated in the Birth of the Cool recording sessions Performed in Paris with the Charlie Parker Quintet Married Mildred Wilkinson (divorced); two children, Maxine and Daryl |
| 1950-1953 | Attended Manhattan School of Music, majoring at first in percussion before switching to composition Paid tuition with money earned while working with Charlie Parker and Coleman Hawkins |
| 1953 | Founded Debut Records with Charles Mingus, the first recording label run by musicians His first recorded solo work, "Drum conversation," was released Performed at Massey Hall with Charles Mingus, Bud Powell, Dizzy Gillespie, and Charlie Parker Formed quintet with Clifford Brown, Richie Powell, George Morrow, and Harold Land (later replaced by Sonny Rollins) |
| 1954 | Son Raoul born to Roach and singer Barbara Jai (Johnson) Roach quintet recorded Brown and Roach Incorporated |
| 1955 | Notable recordings: Charles Mingus Quartet & Max Roach; Clifford Brown & Max Roach; Study in Brown (with Clifford Brown) |
| 1956 | Began teaching summer sessions on improvisation at the Lenox School of Jazz, Massachusetts Notable recordings: Saxophone Colossus (Sonny Rollins); Sonny Rollins plus 4; Brilliant Corners (Thelonious Monk); At Basin Street (with Clifford Brown) |
| 1957 | Notable recordings: Max Roach in 3/4 Time; Max Roach plus 4 Involvement with Debut Records ended |
| 1958 | Performed Concerto for Max, by Peter Phillips, at the Monterey Jazz Festival Recorded with the Boston Pops Percussion Ensemble Conducted own compositions with the Carme Chamber Orchestra in Milan Notable recordings: Freedom Suite (Sonny Rollins); Deeds Not Words |
| 1959 | Recorded Rich vs. Roach, featuring drum battles with Buddy Rich |
| 1960 | Composed and recorded We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite |
| 1961 | Premiere of We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite at benefit event for the Congress of Racial Equality We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite performed at NAACP Annual Convention Held one-man protest with sign reading "Freedom now" on stage at Carnegie Hall during Miles Davis concert Notable recordings: Out Front (Booker Little); Drum Suite (Slide Hampton); Percussion Bitter Sweet |
| 1962 | Married Abbey Lincoln (divorced 1970) Notable recordings: Money Jungle (with Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus); It's time; Speak, Brother, Speak |
| 1964 | Composed original score for Japanese film The Black Sun |
| 1965 | Recorded Drums Unlimited, an album featuring three solo drum compositions that profoundly reshaped modern drumming |
| 1970 | Founded M'Boom, a ten-piece percussion ensemble |
| 1971 | Recorded Lift Every Voice and Sing with The J.C. White Singers Married Janice Adams. They have twin daughters, Ayo and Dara |
| 1972-1994 | Professor of music, University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
| 1976 | Recorded Force with Archie Shepp |
| 1977 | Recorded Streams of Consciousness with Abdullah Ibrahim |
| 1978 | Recorded the avant-garde album, Birth and Rebirth, with Anthony Braxton |
| 1979 | Formed Max Roach Double Quartet Notable recordings: One in Two, Two in One (with Anothony Braxton); Historic Concerts (with Cecil Taylor); Long March (with Archie Shepp); Pictures in a Frame; M'Boom |
| 1981 | Recorded Chatahoochie Red, featuring "The dream / It's time," solo performance over Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech |
| 1983 | Performed with hip-hop artist Fab Five Freddy and break dancers |
| 1984 | Recorded Scott Free and Survivors Honored with title of Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts |
| 1985 | Recorded Easy Winnings with the Max Roach Double Quartet |
| 1986 | Won OBIE Award for score of Shepard Sets, a collaboration with Sam Shepard Recorded Bright Moments with the Max Roach Double Quartet |
| 1988 | Received "genius" grant from MacArthur Foundation |
| 1990 | Premiere of The Life and Life of Bumpy Johnson with the San Diego Repertory Theater, a play by Amiri Baraka, with original music by Roach |
| 1991 | Recorded the Grammy-nominated Max and Dizzy, as well as To the Max! |
| 1992 | Performed as drum soloist with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in Frederick Tillis' Festival Journey To the Max! is broadcast on television |
| 1993 | Performed Henry Threadgill's Mix for Orchestra with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra Recorded Max Roach with the New Orchestra of Boston and The So What Brass Quintet |
| 1994 | Debut of the multi-media work, Ju-Ju, at Lincoln Center, featuring M'Boom, Kit Fitzgerald, and the Donald Byrd Dance Group |
| 1995 | Led Percussion Summit at the Verona Arena, featuring M'Boom, Tony Williams, and Ginger Baker Performed Degga with Toni Morrison and Bill T. Jones at Lincoln Center Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for the 1953 Jazz at Massey Hall recording |
| 1998 | Received Lifetime Achievement Award from Zildjian |
| 1999 | Recorded Beijing Trio with Jon Jang and Jiebing Chen |
| 2001 | Toured with Beijing Trio; and performed with them at the Library of Congress |
| 2002 | Recorded Friendship with Clark Terry Composed score for How to Draw a Bunny, a documentary about artist Ray Johnson |
| 2007, Aug. 16 | Died, Manhattan |