Max Roach, the jazz master dies at 83

Max Roach, the master percussionist whose rhythmic innovations and improvisations defined bebop jazz during a wide-ranging career where he collaborated with artists from Duke Ellington to rapper Fab Five Freddy, has died after a long illness. He was 83.


Biography

Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was a bebop/hard bop percussionist, drummer, and composer. He has worked with many of the greatest jazz musicians, including Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Sonny Rollins. He is widely considered to be one of the most important drummers in the history of jazz.