HFA to Celebrate 100th Birthday of Legendary Jazz Drummer and Former Faculty Member Max Roach
Content
The HFA departments of Afro-American Studies and Music & Dance, as well as the Fine Arts Center, will collaborate to present concerts and presentations in October 2024 in celebration of the 100th birthday of Max Roach, legendary jazz drummer, activist, and one of the first jazz musicians to teach full-time at the college level right here at UMass Amherst.
The event will feature current faculty and students as well as visiting scholars, artists, and alumni. A tentative schedule can be found below.
Max Roach Centennial Celebration Schedule
Deeds Not Words: Photographs of Max Roach by Edward Cohen
Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Location TBA
Hosted by: W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies, in partnership with Edward Cohen
Honoring the Legacy of Max Roach: A Panel and Conversation featuring Terri Lyne Carrington, Guthrie Ramsey and other speakers
Monday, Oct. 21, 2024
3-4:30 p.m.
Old Chapel
Hosted by: W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies
Music and Dance Tribute to Max Roach
Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024
7-9:30 p.m.
Tillis Hall
Hosted by: Department of Music and Dance
UMass Jazz Faculty Performance with Special Guests
Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024
7:30-9 p.m.
Bezanson Hall
Hosted by: Department of Music and Dance
Max Roach Tribute Band led by Makaya McCraven
Friday, Oct. 25, 2024
7:30-9 p.m.
Bowker Auditorium
Adult: $50, $40, $30; Five College student and youth 17 and under, $15
Hosted by: Fine Arts Center
UMass Band Day at UMass Football
Featuring jazz-themed halftime show, including "Ghost Dance" by Max Roach
Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024
3:30-6:30 p.m.
McGuirk Alumni Stadium
Cost: Entrance into football game
Hosted by: UMass Minuteman Marching Band
About Max Roach
Max Roach’s career included a rich history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the College of Humanities & Fine Arts (HFA). The legendary drummer was one of the first jazz musicians to teach full-time at the college level, joining the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies as a visiting professor in 1972.
Roach made significant contributions during his tenure, creating a vocal ensemble called the Voices of New Africa House Workshop Choir, which performed with acclaimed artists like Archie Shepp, DeeDee Bridgewater, and Cissy Houston; launching Drum, an award-winning literary magazine founded by and for Black students; and co-founding the Department of Music & Dance Jazz in July programs in improvisation to help mentor jazz students, which are still thriving 40 years later.
The university recently commemorated Roach's legacy for the UMass Black Presence Project, which launched in 2021. The Afro-Am department has also hosted several events, including its 2019 panel titled, “The Life and Legacy of Max Roach,” featuring a slew of artists, including his daughter and violist Maxine Roach, his “biographist” Herb Boyd, and visual artist Nelson Stevens.
Additional details about how the university will continue to celebrate Roach throughout 2024 will be shared as they are available.