Scope and Content Note
The materials in the Max Roach Papers document the career and personal life of jazz drummer, composer, educator, and activist Max Roach (1924-2007) and, to a lesser extent, his second wife, jazz singer Abbey Lincoln (1930-2010). The collection spans from 1880 to 2012, with the bulk of the materials dating between 1950 and 2005. In addition to its sizeable manuscript contents, the collection contains hundreds of live sound recordings, including a unique solo piano recording by the elusive Philadelphia pianist Hasaan Ibn Ali. It is not only a comprehensive representation of Roach's music and performing career, but also a dynamic portrayal of the personalities and cultural forces behind jazz in the United States and abroad in the latter half of the twentieth century.
Music materials consist of manuscript and printed scores, parts, sketches, lead sheets, transcriptions, methods, and lyric sheets for works performed, composed, or owned by Roach. The majority of Roach's original compositions, including the notable We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite and Garvey's Ghost, are almost entirely in his own hand. The collection also features several holograph manuscripts of Hasaan Ibn Ali, as well as manuscript parts for Dahahoud in the hand of trumpeter Clifford Brown. Other composers represented include Cecil Bridgewater, Stanley Cowell, Billy Harper, Jimmy Heath, Clifford Jordan, Frederick Tillis, and Randy Weston. For each title, composer and/or arranger and instrumental parts are identified if known.
Despite his colorful career, Roach never penned his own memoirs, although he did initiate a half dozen or more unfinished biographical projects during his later years. The most notable of these is certainly Making a Way out of No Way, a collaboration with Amiri Baraka based on a series of extensive interviews conducted in 1995. Roach's most poignant writings loosely date from the 1960s and 1970s and consist of hand scrawled notes and essays on a host of charged issues: negative connotations of "jazz", discrimination against African American jazz musicians, civil rights and militant activism, and many other subjects. Interspersed among these are writings by Abbey Lincoln about similarly somber topics. Roach also gave countless interviews and lectures and was routinely featured in pieces by notable jazz critics and educators, such as Stanley Crouch, Chip Stern, and Acklyn Lynch. His prolific collaborations with numerous performers, activists, poets, and other cultural figures is responsible for the large amount of original material by others represented throughout this collection, particularly within the writings. Included here are works by Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Nina Simone, and Fela Sowande.
Roach's correspondence file contains letters, notes, and business papers from many of the foremost jazz performers and cultural figures of the twentieth century. These include Maya Angelou, Dizzy Gillespie, Philly Joe Jones, Abbey Lincoln, Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins, Gunther Schuller, and hundreds of others. Additional correspondence is present in a voluminous series of files that document musical and cultural projects, tours and performances, legal matters, endorsements, awards and honors, and other subjects of interest to Roach. Many of these pertain to the business affairs of Max Roach Industries and Milma Music, companies in which Roach was a founding member. Projects that are extensively documented include We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite (original performances and 1993 revival), To the Max!, The Life and Life of Bumpy Johnson (with Amiri Baraka), A Midsummer Night's Dream, Black Picture Show, and Ju Ju.
Photographs in the collection are similarly expansive. The majority form a chronological series of event files that document Roach's performances and social gatherings from roughly the late 1940s through the 2000s. Personalities are identified at the folder level and include: Amiri Baraka, Ron Carter, Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, Eric Dolphy, Kenny Dorham, Dizzy Gillespie, Jo Jones, Abbey Lincoln, Booker T. Little, Malcolm X, Charles Mingus, Charlie Parker, Tito Puente, Sonny Rollins, Archie Shepp, Cecil Taylor, and many others. These names can also be found throughout the alphabetical personality file. Additional subseries of photographs include portraits and candid shots of Roach alone, family gatherings, a collection of albums centered around tours or specific events, and negatives.
Through local collaborations and international touring, Roach accumulated a diverse body of printed materials related to jazz, civil rights, and African American culture. Some of these he personally solicited, while others he received indirectly by way of participation in events or mailings. Roach was particularly interested in African music and drumming, art, and African nationalism. His focus on civil rights abuses within the United States and abroad eventually grew to include issues of humanitarian crises and religious persecution as well. These subject files contain rare periodicals, newsletters, pamphlets, press kits, fliers, and other materials associated with organizations and events pertaining to the above issues. They also include materials for specific jazz performers, visual artists, poets, dancers, and other groups of interest to Roach.
Programs and promotional materials within the collection chiefly correspond to Roach's performances as soloist or member of the following groups: Max Roach Quartet, Max Roach Quintet, Max Roach Double Quartet, Max Roach Chorus and Orchestra, M'Boom, So What Brass Quintet, Beijing Trio, and the Uptown String Quartet. Included as well are ceremonial programs for Roach's awards or special guest appearances. A small series of biographical materials rounds up personal documents, date books, biographies, and other items related to the daily lives of Roach and his family, Abbey Lincoln, and Shannon Gibbons. Some of this content is expanded upon further within the financial documents, a large, chronological run of files containing tax returns, royalties, banking, payroll, travel and business expenditures, equipment purchases, bar tabs, and other expenses that Roach incurred during his professional engagements. Reviews and press coverage of Roach's performances and recordings are found in the clippings files. These include an impressive quantity of international reviews, as well as a variety of publications featuring Roach on the front cover. The last series, miscellany, contains mostly artwork, awards, and other realia given to Roach throughout his career.