Max Roach 4 - Plays Charlie Parker (Verve)

Bird tributes have been a reliable jazz staple for over a half century. This one probably ranks as my first pick amongst the Hitchcock-sized flock. Max was in the midst of a creative watershed that initially made his look back on the Parker songbook seem slightly anachronistic. Closer scrutiny exposed notable departures in his homage, most obviously in the absence of piano, a move that deposited increased responsibility on his own trap kit for shading and accompaniment under the horns. Bassists Nelson Boyd and George Morrow weren’t top tier players, but they work well enough in meeting Max’s sounding board needs. Kenny Dorham is the constant in the frontline while Hank Mobley and George Coleman alternate on tenor. An additional four tunes with the Mobley line-up are included on the Verve single disc reissue as are the Roach devised percussion preambles on two more, the opening “Yardbird Suite” and “Au Privave”. Dorham’s agile improvisations on “Parker’s Mood” and “Raoul” present potent bop statements in smooth-toned guises. Mobley isn’t quite so sure-footed in the sans-ivories setting, but it’s still exciting hearing him make his way through the limbered up changes. Coleman, conversely, isn’t hindered by any such compunction. After an initial blurred note salvo from Dorham, he blazes through a brush fire rendering of “Koko”, Max’s voracious cymbals nipping at his heels. The drummer’s home stretch solo gives peer Blakey cause for pause in the province of press roll supremacy. Max is sadly no longer in full possession of his faculties, a case where advanced age has exacted an exceedingly cruel toll. This set bookmarks his prime when there were few, if any, who could match his combination of arranger’s acuity and instrumental excellence.