Max Roach Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 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 alongside the most important drummers in history. He worked with many famous jazz musicians, including Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Abbey Lincoln, Dinah Washington, Charles Mingus, Billy Eckstine, Stan Getz, Sonny Rollins, Eric Dolphy, and Booker Little. He was inducted into the "DownBeat" Hall of Fame in 1980 and the "Modern Drummer" Hall of Fame in 1992. Roach
Mingus: Charlie Mingus 1968 Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Miles Davis and many more lived and breathed the music. In order to be a true musician’s musician, which Mingus definitely was, there had to be immense dedication. When asked about Mingus, trumpet player Dizzy Gillespie said “Sometimes he plays and his fingers start bleedin.’” He also said that Mingus had a “lack of peers” because not many were up to his caliber and able to make music successfully with him. As a talented jazz bassist, Mingus was an amazing artist who played small clubs and ensembles throughout his professional career. Later in life, during the