BEATING OUT THE RHYTHM OF JUSTICE

Black America and the civil rights movement is joining music fans from across the globe tonight in mourning the death of Max Roach [pictured], the pioneer jazz drummer. He not only moved the percussive arts forward massively and helped jazz become recognised as a serious art form as well as a dance hall pastime, he also took his social responsibility seriously. As the BBC and othe obituarists have noted: "Roach also brought politics into his art, becoming one of jazz's loudest voices for civil rights. In 1960 he created We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite, a seven-part movement that addressed slavery and racism in America." He and Martin Luther King Jr shared a mutual respect. More going up on NewFrontEars.