This short retrospective was released by Mr. Meyerowitz in May 2011. Especially painful events in history can easily erode from one’s memory. You want to believe that something this grim never could have happened. But every day in bits and pieces all over the globe, smaller likenesses still reoccur at different scales. Ukraine. Uvalde. Trump. Crashing at their own rates of death defying speed into the Towers of Hope. Resist remembering to forget this day.
Percussionist Max Roach
“Max Roach
New England Repertory Theatre
May 28th 1979
It was truly an honor to be able to present Max Roach in a sold-out solo drum concert in 1979 at the intimate 99 seat former Quaker Meeting space. I believe it was the first time that he had ever performed a full-length solo performance. We had the good fortune to be able to get him as he was nearby teaching at UMass Amherst.
Here was a man that had played and recorded with virtually everyone in the jazz world: Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, Sonny Rollins and recently, at the time of this concert, in duets with Anthony Braxton, Dollar Brand, Archie Shepp and Cecil Taylor.
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) said this about him.
Max Roach was one of the two leading drummers of the bebop era (along with Kenny Clarke) and was one of the leading musicians, composers, and bandleaders in jazz since the 1940s. His often biting political commentary and strong intellect, not to mention his rhythmic innovations, kept him at the vanguard of jazz for more than 50 years.
Max was fifty-five at the time of this performance which was supported by a Meet The Composer grant from the NEA. He was a gracious gentleman who spoke eloquently about his career while demonstrating various techniques and styles. At one point he spoke about the label that he was contracted to handing him a Beatles album and suggesting that he do something like this to attract a larger audience. Needless to say that was not a direction that Max was going to take.
He died in 2007 from complications related to Alzheimer’s and dementia with over 1,900 attending his funeral at Riverside”
Natalie Merchant, the former lead vocalist of the band Ten Thousand Maniacs, has conducted a quite righteous solo career. No where is this more evident than in her greatly glossed over concept record, a creation that took a year and was released in 2010 “Leave Your Sleep.” She presents adaptations of 19th and 20th century British and American poets. Ms. Merchant grew the work from introducing spoken verse to her daughter during the first five years of her life. It took her 5 years to prepare the material for recording. She collaborated with 130 musicians, weaving Reggae, Celtic, Classical, Pop, Old Timey, Gospel, Chinese, Klezmer, Bossa Nova, Folk, First Nation, Sea Shanties and Blues into the mix. For good measure, a children’s picture book with illustrations by Barbara McClintock was published. Art sweat. Some samples follow.
Work from Gerard Manley Hopkins
A poem by Arthur Macy upon which Ms. Merchant is assisted by gospel greats, The Fairfield Four
And happy birthday to one of the cleanest guitar players on the planet. Funny that basically an instrumentalist would have such a fabulous speaking and singing voice. He is an undisputed king of between song banter during his live performances. Who can argue with the admonition which accompanies the liner notes to his 1972 lp “Greenhouse.”
“In the sense that my guitars were once plants, this records a greenhouse.”
