Max Roach Centennial Celebration Tour Honors Legendary Drummer-Composer, Bebop Pioneer, and Civil Rights Activist
New York, NY (Dec. 13, 2023)- To commemorate the centennial of the legendary musician drummer-composer, bebop pioneer, and activist Max Roach (1924-2007), the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis premieres new arrangements of works by the iconic artist at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, NY on Jan. 19-20 at 8:00 p.m.
Following the performances at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the world-renowned big band tours the Max Roach Centennial Celebration throughout the U.S., Jan. 21-28. See tour dates listed below.
Exclusively for this centennial celebration, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra features music direction from Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra drummer Obed Calvaire to honor the legendary artist whose groundbreaking performances and social activism continue to impact music, culture, and socio-artistic expression.
“You could take four bars from Max and come up with a lifetime of vocabulary on the instrument – playing bebop,” says Calvaire. “That’s how much he’s influenced our music. He was just a genius and there will never be another Max Roach.”
No jazz musician embodied political activism more thoroughly than Max Roach – a master of rhythmic and tonal design on the drum set and a pioneer in the deployment of odd meter. “He’s one of the great freedom fighters in the history of jazz,” says Jazz at Lincoln Center Managing and Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis.
“An unbelievable drum virtuoso, Max invented the modern style of drum.”
Visit jazz.org/maxroach for more information.
Max Roach Centennial Celebration
Featuring the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Tour Dates:
January 19-20, 2024
Jazz at Lincoln Center
New York, NY
January 21, 2024
Kimmel Center
Philadelphia, PA
January 23, 2024
Moss Arts Center
Blacksburg, VA
January 24, 2024
Mickey L. Burnim Fine Arts Center
Elizabeth City, NC
January 25, 2024
Modlin Center for the Arts
Roanoke, VA
January 26, 2024
Music Center at Strathmore
North Bethesda, MD
January 27, 2024
Staller Center for the Arts
Stony Brook, NY
January 28, 2024
Symphony Hall
Boston, MA