Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes
Preview: 10/6/2023 | 1m 6sVideo has Closed Captions
Experience the groundbreaking sounds of bebop pioneer and virtuoso composer Max Roach.
Experience the groundbreaking sounds of bebop pioneer and virtuoso composer Max Roach, whose far-reaching ambitions were inspired and challenged by the inequities of the society around him.
Support for American Masters is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, AARP, Rosalind P. Walter Foundation, Judith and Burton Resnick, Blanche and Hayward Cirker Charitable Lead Annuity Trust, Koo...
Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes
Preview: 10/6/2023 | 1m 6sVideo has Closed Captions
Experience the groundbreaking sounds of bebop pioneer and virtuoso composer Max Roach, whose far-reaching ambitions were inspired and challenged by the inequities of the society around him.
How to Watch American Masters
American Masters is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
Buy Now
A front row seat to the creative process
How do today’s masters create their art? Each episode an artist reveals how they brought their creative work to life. Hear from artists across disciplines, like actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, singer-songwriter Jewel, author Min Jin Lee, and more on our podcast "American Masters: Creative Spark."Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship(drumming) - [Interviewer] You consider this music as a weapon?
- Sometimes, we do use the music as a weapon against man's inhumanity toward man.
(upbeat jazz music) Everything I wrote and recorded had to do with the movement.
- It was a new political feeling among these guys, and Max exemplified that.
- Max was one of the people redefining what the music is gonna be in every decade.
He was never resting on his laurels.
- Max and those guys were always about that new and that next thing.
- [Interviewee] He made us all understand there are no boundaries.
There are no boundaries in human experience, there are no boundaries in music.
- He wasn't trying to be anything, he was already it.
(upbeat jazz music) (audience applauding)
Documenting the legacy of drummer Max Roach
Video has Closed Captions
Director Sam Pollard was captivated by the life story of drummer and activist Max Roach. (2m 28s)
How Max Roach created the experimental sound of M'Boom
Video has Closed Captions
Max Roach founded M'Boom, a jazz group made up of experimental percussionists. (2m 12s)
How Max Roach fused jazz and hip hop
Video has Closed Captions
Max Roach was excited by the premise and promise of rap when it first hit the music scene. (2m 47s)
Rare footage of Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln's collaboration
Video has Closed Captions
Take a peek inside Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln’s musical process in this exclusive. (25m 51s)
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship
Support for American Masters is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, AARP, Rosalind P. Walter Foundation, Judith and Burton Resnick, Blanche and Hayward Cirker Charitable Lead Annuity Trust, Koo...