About
Max Roach closes out the solos on drums with a quarter of the form, following Tommy Potter at approximately 243 BPM. Set within a swinging rhythmic framework, the 32-bar AABA form and the key of B♭, the solo navigates the chord changes with purpose. Built on the chord changes of "Perdido," the harmonic foundation is a familiar one in the jazz repertoire, inviting inventive melodic departures. Coming last in the solo order, Roach has the task of building on everything that came before while steering the performance back toward the closing head. This is one of the recordings from the final Dial sessions of November 1947, capturing the quintet in a period of peak cohesion and creative confidence. Roach takes only the last 8 bars of the form.
Max Roach was 22 to 23 years old at the time.
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