Max Roach Quartet Live in Granada, Spain (Part I)

Max Roach is possibly the most influential drummer of all time (with the likes of Elvin Jones and Art Blakey in contention). He was a direct role model for Tony Allen, the co-creator of Afrobeat and Ginger Baker, the notorious rock-and-roller-turned-Afro-jazz drummer, as well as countless others. His story began with the advent of bebop, of which he was a pioneer, and he went on to play with essentially all the main actors of the epoch: Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins, Charles Mingus, Dinah Washinton, Eric Dolphy, Stan Getz, Billy Eckstine ... his list of collaborations reads like a hall of fame roster. Here, for his third visit to the French capital, he is joined by a stellar quartet that includes the Turrentine brothers and captured by the ever-present French director Jean-Christophe Averty. 

Part one begins with a beautiful, poised and delicate drum solo before launching into an interview section where Roach talks about his past collaborations and his journey to get up to this point. The band kick in not long after featuring fantastic interplay between Roach's kit work and the double bassist Bobby Boswell. Towards the end of the segment Roach has another opportunity to dazzle the audience with his solo play: upright back, calm expression, sticks held delicately in the old jazz style, he unspools beautiful threats of rhythmic sequences that are full of character and melodic content. A true master at work.