Drums Unlimited (Mono) Max Roach

• 1 The Drum Also Waltzes 03:38
• 2 Nommo 12:41
• 3 Drums Unlimited 04:25
• 4 St. Louis Blues 05:23
• 5 For Big Sid 03:04
• 6 In The Red (A Xmas Carol) 12:22
• Total Runtime 41:33

Info for Drums Unlimited (Mono)

Released in 1966, Drums Unlimited remains a unique listening experience even now, but it’s a tremendous opportunity to hear just how amazing Roach could be when he was sitting behind his kit. The six-track album alternates between a trio of solo performances by Roach – “The Drum Also Waltzes,” the title track, and “For Big Sid” – and a trio of songs which find him playing alongside trumpeter Freddie Bubbard, alto saxophonist Roland Alexander, pianist Ronnie Matthews, and bassist Jymie Merritt. The tracks in the latter category, by the way, are “Nommo,” “St. Louis Blues,” and “In the Red (A Christmas Carol),” and it should also be noted that “St. Louis Blues” also features some sweet soprano sax from Roland Alexander.

If you’ve ever found yourself thinking of the words “drum solo” as nothing more than a punchline, then Drums Unlimited may change your tune. As fellow drummer Nasheet Waits said in a piece on Jazz.com, “I think it’s one of the great albums in the history of jazz music, not only for interspersing the solos between the other songs, but also the quality of those tunes: it’s what he played (and) how he played it.”

Max Roach, drums
Freddie Hubbard, trumpet (tracks 2, 4, 6)
Roland Alexander, soprano saxophone (track 4)
James Spaulding, alto saxophone (tracks 2, 4 6)
Ronnie Mathews, piano (tracks 2, 4 6)
Jymie Merritt, bass (tracks 2, 4 6)

Recorded on October 14 & 20, 1965 and April 25, 1966, New York City
Produced by Arif Mardin

Digitally remastered

No biography found.

This album contains no booklet.