Max Roach
Drums Solo on
Parisian Thoroughfare

About

Max Roach's drums solo is the last of four solos on this recording, following Richie Powell on piano. Spanning 1.13 choruses of the 32-bar AABA form in F at a driving 193 BPM with a swing feel, Roach rounds out the improvisation with a drum solo that showcases his ability to build thematic statements within the song's structure. "Parisian Thoroughfare" is a contrafact built on the chord changes of "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea," requiring the soloist to navigate a familiar harmonic framework with a different melodic identity.

Max Roach was 29 to 30 years old at the time.