Johnny Griffin, 80; Chicago jazz saxophonist lived in Europe Jul 27, 2008
Mr. Griffin left the United States in 1963, settling in Paris and recording mostly for European labels - sometimes with other American expatriates, like the drummer Kenny Clarke, and sometimes with European rhythm sections. In 1973 he moved to Bergambacht, the Netherlands. (Boston Globe)
Ozzie Cadena, 83, producer for jazz musicians Apr 23, 2008
During that time he worked closely with the drummer Kenny Clarke, who rounded up various groups of musicians for one-shot recording dates and acted as a kind of facilitator to the label, and with the famous engineer Rudy Van Gelder, who recorded Cadena's sessions at his studio in New Jersey. In 1962, he replaced Esmond Edwards as head of Arestige, in New York, and took over that label's new recordings for two periods one starting in 1962, the other starting in 1972 helping direct it toward organ... (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- World)
Two jazz progressives take divergent CD paths Mar 20, 2008
Opie was inspired by the legacy of great sax-bass-drums trios, such as Sonny Rollins' trio lineups in the '50s and '60s (which included legends such as Max Roach, Kenny Clarke and Henry Grimes) or Ornette Coleman's classic threesome with David Izenson and Charles Moffett. "I wanted have a group of my own in that format," continues Opie. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)
Jazz saxophonist patterned himself after Charlie Parker Dec 23, 2007
Though still a teenager, Morgan recorded with Teddy Charles and founding members of the Modern Jazz Quartet, Milt Jackson and Kenny Clarke. At the Club Alabam on Central Avenue he backed Billie Holiday and other artists. (Los Angeles Times)
Max Roach, Pioneer of Modern Jazz, 1924-2007 Aug 19, 2007
" Though not the first bop drummer (Kenny Clarke earns that distinction), Roach was widely acknowledged as the most influential and at times the most controversial. His musical imagination, like his flying hands, never stood still from his earliest days in gospel bands to experiments with the drum ensemble M Boom to his late career interests in hip hop and rap.Maxwell Lemuel Roach was born in Newland, NC, and moved with his family to the Bedfrd-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn at age four.... (Jazz Police)
Billet: Max Roach Aug 19, 2007
Roach, along with Kenny Clarke, moved it to the ride cymbal. It was a move that allowed greater freedom and improvisation for the whole group, and would define bebop and its successors. (Zmag.org)
Jazz drummer Max Roach dies Aug 18, 2007
Roach, along with fellow-drummer Kenny Clarke, changed that by shifting the time-keeping function to the cymbal, allowing the drums to play a more expressive and melodic role. Roach began drumming before the age of 10. (BBC News -- Americas)
Max Roach, 83; created rhythmic foundation of bebop, expanded role of drums Aug 17, 2007
Along with Kenny Clarke, Mr. Roach was the seminal bebop drummer, all but inventing the rhythmic foundation for a jazz revolution. Bebop, with its furious tempos and shifting accents, was an ideal vehicle for Mr. Roach's virtuosity, placing as it did vastly greater demands on a percussionist than swing music had. (Boston Globe)
Max Roach, a founder of modern jazz, dies at 83 Aug 17, 2007
He was not the first drummer to play bebop Kenny Clarke, 10 years his senior, is generally credited with that distinction but he quickly established himself as both the most imaginative percussionist in modern jazz and the most influential. In Roach's hands, the drum kit became much more than a means of keeping time. (International Herald Tribune)
Jazz master Max Roach dies at 83 Aug 17, 2007
He expanded ideas introduced by Kenny Clarke, opening up creative possibilities by shifting the rhythmic pulse from the bass drum to the cymbals. Roach was born in New Land, N.C., in 1924 and moved to Brooklyn with his family four years later. (USA Today)
