Max Roach

American jazz drummer and bandleader. One of the pioneers of bebop. Born: 10 January 1924 in Newland, Pasquotank County, North Carolina, USA. Died: 16 August 2007 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA (aged 83). Married several times, a.o. to singer Abbey Lincoln between 1962 and 1970. Survived by 5 children, a.o. Raoul Roach and viola player Maxine Roach. Godfather of Fab 5 Freddy. Roach was one of the most accomplished jazz drummers and percussionists of his time. He worked with many of the greatest jazz musicians, including Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Clifford Brown. Taught at University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) between 1972 and the mid-1990s. Pioneering all his life, he was also a pioneer of Afro American awareness and an important figure in the black civil rights movement.