WKCR is delighted to announce our 24-hour annual birthday broadcast for jazz great Max Roach this January 10, 2025. All regularly scheduled programming will be preempted to bring you 24 straight hours of one of jazz’s finest and most influential drummers.

Roach was born in North Carolina in 1924, but his family moved to Brooklyn when he was four years old. His mother was a gospel singer and his first drum gigs were in gospel bands. His breakout gig in jazz came in 1942, when he became the house drummer at Monroe’s Uptown House. He made his first recording the following year, backing Coleman Hawkins. During the ‘40s, he made quite the name for himself, recording with the likes of Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, Bud Powell, and Miles Davis. Even in the early years, he did not restrict himself to one style: jazz lovers find him on several of Bird’s Savoy and Dial sessions, as well as Miles’s Birth of the Cool. In 1952, Roach formed a label, Debut Records with Charles Mingus. The label counted among its albums Roach’s first session as a leader and the iconic live album Jazz at Massey Hall with Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, and Mingus and Roach. In 1954, Roach began playing with Clifford Brown. Their collaboration (which ended with Brownie’s tragic death in 1956) produced some of jazz’s most beloved recordings. Influenced by the Civil Rights Movement and his relationship with Abbey Lincoln (to whom he was married for 6 years), Roach began to infuse more politics in his works, such as the We Insist! Freedom Now Suite. In the ‘70s, Roach formed a percussion ensemble called M’Boom, featuring global percussion influences. He also looked to the avant-garde, recording with Anthony Braxton and Cecil Taylor.

Roach passed away on Aug. 16, 2007. But here at WKCR, his music lives on. Listeners can tune in to our 24-hour Max Roach Birthday Broadcast on 89.9FM or stream the birthday broadcast live on our website, wkcr.org. Follow WKCR on Instagram (@wkcr) and Twitter (@WKCRFM) for updates about this special broadcast and future events. As always, online listening is available 24/7 at wkcr.org via our web stream.