Jazz Genius

Jazz in general—and the Jazz Studies program at UMass in particular—wouldn’t be the same without the influence of drummer and former faculty member Max Roach. This year marks the centennial of Roach’s birth, and the College of Humanities and Fine Arts and the Fine Arts Center have a full schedule of events planned to commemorate the pioneer and celebrate his legacy. (And they aren’t the only ones—Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra commemorated him at Boston Symphony Hall earlier this year, and the New York Times profiled his work last fall.)

Before coming to UMass Amherst, Roach was already considered a superstar in the jazz world, playing with Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, and as a solo artist. He was also a leading voice in the Civil Rights and Pan-African movements of the 1960s and ’70s.

Recruited by Chancellor Randolph Bromery, Roach was one of the first jazz musicians to teach full-time at the college level and joined the W. E. B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies as a visiting professor in 1972. His impressive list of contributions includes creating the Voices of New Africa House Workshop Choir; launching the award-winning literary magazine Drum, founded by and for Black students; and co-founding the Jazz in July programs in improvisation, which are still thriving to this day. He also brought such luminaries as Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Tito Puente, and Ray Brown to campus to raise funds for the Fletcher Henderson Scholarship (later renamed the Fletcher Henderson-Max Roach Memorial Scholarship).

In 1984, Roach was named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts, and four years later, he received a “Genius Grant” from the MacArthur Foundation. He spent his entire teaching career at UMass Amherst and retired from teaching in 1994.

Get a taste of Roach’s work with these clips—and find even more recommendations from the New York Times.

Check out the full list of events celebrating Roach’s 100th birthday.