Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 15, 2007)

Max was a bebop/hard bop percussionist, drummer, and composer. He worked with many of the outstanding jazz musicians, including Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins and the vocalist Abbey Lincoln to whom he had been married. He is widely considered to be one of the most important drummers in the history of jazz.

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