Max Roach

A strong case can be made for Max Roach as the most complete drummer in jazz history. He was front-and-center for both the bebop movement that transformed jazz in the late 1940s and its hard-bop offshoot in the mid-1950s. He helped pioneer a new drumming style in which the ride cymbal was the focal element of the drumkit, and his ability to play extremely fast ride patterns set a new standard for drumming excellence. As part of the Peabody Award-winning documentary series “Jazz Profile...