MAX ROACH AT STORYVILLE (1977) Set of 2 photos

New York: Jody Caravaglia, 1977. Pair of vintage original 10 x 8″ (25 x 20 cm.) black-and-white photos, both with holograph notes on verso indicating they were shot on set at the Storyville jazz club in NYC on 5/30/77. One with photo agency sticker on verso, just about fine.

“Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 8/10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history.

“Roach’s most significant innovations came in the 1940s, when he and Kenny Clarke devised a new concept of musical time. By playing the beat-by-beat pulse of standard 4/4 time on the ride cymbal instead of on the thudding bass drum, Roach and Clarke developed a flexible, flowing rhythmic pattern that allowed soloists to play freely. This also created space for the drummer to insert dramatic accents on the snare drum, crash cymbal, and other components of the trap set.

“By matching his rhythmic attack with a tune’s melody, Roach brought a newfound subtlety of expression to the drums. He often shifted the dynamic emphasis from one part of his drum kit to another within a single phrase, creating a sense of tonal color and rhythmic surprise. Roach said of the drummer’s unique positioning, ‘In no other society do they have one person play with all four limbs.’” (Wikipedia)