Max Roach, RIP - August 19, 2007

Max Roach passed on the other day. I was surprised to read that he was 83, and yet he had been around as long as I can remember. They used to play his music and talk about him on KJAZ. He would turn up on television sometimes. He always looked really serious, with the glasses and the suits. He wasn't one of the musicians I wanted to be when I grew up (I never wanted to be a drummer), but he was always there.

He subbed in Duke Ellington's orchestra when he was 16. He was one of the creators of bebop. He played on "Birth of the Cool". There aren't many people left (Lee Konitz?) who played on those sessions.

He composed, he taught. He led a good life.