The Roach is Never Dead; Max Roach - Quiet As It's Kept

I found Max Roach long ago when looking for Jazz drummers. Lo and behold, he is the best I've found thus far. He accomplishes a swinging hard bop sound without relying always on a brushed snare; a rare treat. Albums like this are great for just about anything. Studying, driving around on a rainy day, hangin' in the park... you name it, it does it. I guess this love stems from back in the days when I would play pogs. Each cardboard circle (a pog) was essentially the same thing, just with a different cover. Aesthetically, jazz is quite the same. Instrumentation and playing style often remains consistent from album to album... essentially the only variable is the album art. This ain't so bad. I seem to be drawn to genres that have a heavy backbone. Boom bap hip-hop, 70's dub reggae, hard bop— all birthplaces for large collections. Its easy to classify this kind of music, and therefore easier to understand. If every album you heard was wildly different from every other, it would be impossible to hear certain subtleties.

Quiet As It's Kept is unfaithful to its name. Seldom is there any quiet playing. "Lotus Bloom" sounds more like a busy street than a quiet night by the lake. Regardless, its an interesting album. Max doesn't recruit a pianist this time around. But this doesn't serve as a handicap to Roach— I actually wouldn't have noticed if I wasn't trying to keep track of the instrumentation. Sadly, beyond Roach, I am wholly ignorant of the featured instrumentalists; the Turrentine brothers (sax & trumpet) or Julian Priester (trombone). However, Stanley Turrentine intrigues me. I'm having a hard time describing his playing. Cloudy? Can one cloudily play a trumpet? He certainly has a short drawback on his attack, waiting a millisecond or so extra to blow, giving the instrument a graduating toot. As you can tell, I'm very poorly versed in jazz nomenclature.

Of the three Max Roach albums I have, I am enjoying this one the most. I'd recommend giving it a spin while you're driving home after a late night coffee with some friends. Don't miss out on similar artists as well— Art Blakey sounds quite akin to Max Roach. Either way, don't be lame, give jazz a chance!