Max Roach

I have just heard the sad news that drummer Max Roach is dead.

I am forever quoting him on the subject of rap of which he once remarked, "Those who voted for defunding of music eduction programs in public schools are getting what they paid for." That pretty much sums it up.

Recently, I watched a restored version of filmmaker Oscar Micheaux's silent era "Within These Gates," which contained an entire wall-to-wall soundtrack played by just Max! The first thing that always leaps to mind when I hear his name is his TV "duet" with dancer Harold Nicholas on "Little David."

I believe that he had been instututionalized for the past few years suffering from Alzheimer's, the growing plague that is beginning to rival global warming in terms of its longterm, worldwide impact. When I heard about Max and the disease a while back, that really put a "face" on it for me.