Collection Manuscript/Mixed Material Max Roach papers,

Title

• Max Roach papers,

Summary

• The collection includes music manuscripts, writings, correspondence, business papers, photographs, programs, sound recordings, and other materials related to his career. It also contains a variety of materials pertaining to vocalist Abbey Lincoln and countless other jazz artists, including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, and Charlie Parker.
• The collection is not only a comprehensive representation of Roach's music and performing career, but also a dynamic portrayal of the personalities and cultural forces behind jazz in the United States and abroad in the latter half of the twentieth century. It includes music manuscripts, writings, correspondence, business papers, photographs, programs, sound recordings, and other materials related to his career. The collection also contains a variety of materials pertaining to vocalist Abbey Lincoln and countless other jazz artists, including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, and Charlie Parker. Music materials consist of manuscript and printed scores, parts, sketches, lead sheets, transcriptions, methods, and lyric sheets for works performed, composed, or owned by Roach. The majority of Roach's original compositions are almost entirely in his own hand. There are several holograph manuscripts of Hasaan Ibn Ali, and other items by such composers as Cecil Bridgewater, Stanley Cowell, Billy Harper, Jimmy Heath, Clifford Jordan, Frederick Tillis, and Randy Weston. The Writings series includes Making a way out of no way, a collaboration with Amiri Baraka based on a series of extensive interviews with Roach conducted in 1995. Roach's writings loosely date from the 1960s and 1970s and consist of notes and essays on a host of charged issues: negative connotations of "jazz", discrimination against African American jazz musicians, civil rights and militant activism, and many other subjects. Interspersed among these are writings by Abbey Lincoln about similarly somber topics. Roach's prolific collaborations with numerous performers, activists, poets, and other cultural figures is responsible for the large amount of original material by others represented throughout this collection, particularly within the writings. Included here are works by Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Nina Simone, and Fela Sowande.
• Roach's Correspondence file contains letters, notes, and business papers from many of the foremost jazz performers and cultural figures of the twentieth century. These include Maya Angelou, Dizzy Gillespie, Philly Joe Jones, Abbey Lincoln, Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins, Gunther Schuller, and hundreds of others. Additional correspondence is present in a voluminous series of files that document musical and cultural projects, tours and performances, legal matters, endorsements, awards and honors, and other subjects of interest to Roach. Many of these pertain to the business affairs of Max Roach Industries and Milma Music, companies in which Roach was a founding member. Photographs in the collection are similarly expansive. The majority form a chronological series of event files that document Roach's performances and social gatherings from roughly the late 1940s through the 2000s. Additional subseries of photographs include portraits and candid shots of Roach alone, family gatherings, and a collection of albums centered around tours or specific events.
• Through local collaborations and international touring, Roach accumulated a diverse body of printed materials related to jazz, civil rights, and African American culture. Some of these he personally solicited, while others he received indirectly by way of participation in events or mailings. Roach was particularly interested in African music and drumming, art, and African nationalism. His focus on civil rights abuses within the United States and abroad eventually grew to include issues of humanitarian crises and religious persecution as well. These subject files contain rare periodicals, newsletters, pamphlets, press kits, fliers, and other materials associated with organizations and events pertaining to the above issues. They also include materials for specific jazz performers, visual artists, poets, dancers, and other groups of interest to Roach. Programs and Promotional Materials within the collection chiefly correspond to Roach's performances as soloist or member of the following groups: Max Roach Quartet, Max Roach Quintet, Max Roach Double Quartet, Max Roach Chorus and Orchestra, M'Boom, So What Brass Quintet, Beijing Trio, and the Uptown String Quartet. Included as well are ceremonial programs for Roach's awards or special guest appearances. A small series of Biographical Materials rounds up personal documents, date books, biographies, and other items related to the daily lives of Roach and his family, Abbey Lincoln, and Shannon Gibbons. Reviews and press coverage of Roach's performances and recordings are found in the Clippings files. These include an impressive quantity of international reviews, as well as a variety of publications featuring Roach on the front cover. The last series, Miscellany, contains mostly artwork, awards, and other realia given to Roach throughout his career.

Names

• Roach, Max, 1924-2007
• Lincoln, Abbey
• Brown, Clifford
• Baraka, Amiri, 1934-2014
• Sanchez, Sonia, 1934-
• Simone, Nina, 1933-2003
• Sowande, Fela, 1905-1987
• Hasaan
• Bridgewater, Cecil
• Cowell, Stanley
• Harper, Billy
• Heath, Jimmy
• Jordan, Clifford
• Tillis, Frederick, 1930-2020
• Weston, Randy, 1926-2018

Headings

• -  Roach, Max,--1924-2007
• -  Roach, Max,--1924-2007--Archives
• -  Roach, Max,--1924-2007--Correspondence
• -  Roach, Max,--1924-2007--Interviews
• -  Roach, Max,--1924-2007--Manuscripts
• -  Roach, Max,--1924-2007--Photographs
• -  Roach, Max,--1924-2007--Political and social views
• -  Lincoln, Abbey
• -  Lincoln, Abbey--Correspondence
• -  Lincoln, Abbey--Photographs
• -  Jazz--1941-1950
• -  Jazz--1951-1960
• -  Jazz--1961-1970
• -  Jazz--1971-1980
• -  Jazz--1981-1990
• -  Jazz--1991-2000
• -  Jazz--2001-2010
• -  Davis, Miles
• -  Gillespie, Dizzy,--1917-1993
• -  Mingus, Charles,--1922-1979
• -  Parker, Charlie,--1920-1955
• -  Jazz musicians--United States
• -  Jazz musicians--United States--Photographs
• -  African American musicians
• -  Composers--United States
• -  Music--Manuscripts
• -  Jazz--Lead sheets
• -  Songs--Texts
• -  Jazz--History and criticism
• -  Percussion music (Jazz)
• -  Music--Social aspects--United States
• -  Gibbons, Shannon
• -  Angelou, Maya--Correspondence
• -  Gillespie, Dizzy,--1917-1993--Correspondence
• -  Jones, Philly Joe--Correspondence
• -  Mingus, Charles,--1922-1979--Correspondence
• -  Rollins, Sonny--Correspondence
• -  Schuller, Gunther--Correspondence
• -  Max Roach Quartet
• -  Max Roach Quintet
• -  Max Roach Double Quartet
• -  Max Roach Chorus
• -  Max Roach Orchestra
• -  M'Boom (Musical group)
• -  So What Brass Quintet
• -  Beijing Trio
• -  Uptown String Quartet
• -  African Americans--Intellectual life--20th century
• -  African Americans--Music--History and criticism
• -  Arts--Political aspects--United States
• -  Race relations in mass media
• -  African Americans--Civil rights
• -  Civil rights movements--United States
• -  Music and race--United States
• -  United States--Race relations
• -  African Americans--Race identity
• -  Black power--United States
• -  Social justice--United States--20th century
• -  Nationalism--Africa
• -  Music--Africa

Genre

• Appointment books
• Articles
• Awards
• Clippings (Information artifacts)
• Contracts
• Correspondence
• Drafts (Documents)
• Financial records
• Photographic prints
• Programs (Documents)
• Promotional materials
• Scores
• Scrapbooks
• Writings

Notes

• -  Organized into the following series: I. Music (1950s-1990s), II. Writings and Interviews (1954-2003), subdivided: Autobiography with Amiri Baraka (1978-1997), Writings by Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln (1954-2001), Writings by others about Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln (1963-2003), Writings by others about miscellaneous topics (1959-1987), III. Correspondence (1950s-2000s), IV. Files (circa 1954-2012), V. Photographs (circa 1890s-2000s), subdivided: Max Roach, alone (circa 1930s-2000s), Max Roach, with associates (1940s-2000s), Personality File, Roach Family (circa 1890s-2000s), Photograph Albums (1968-2001), Miscellany, VI. Resources on Jazz, Civil Rights, and African American Culture (1950s-2000s), VII. Programs (1962-2008), VIII. Promotional Materials (1946-2008), IX. Biographical Materials (1880-2000s), subdivided: Max Roach (1924-2004), Roach Family (1880-2002), Abbey Lincoln (1950s-2000s), Shannon Gibbons (1982-1995), X. Clippings(1940s-2000s), XI. Financial Documents (1951-2010), XII. Miscellany (1950s-2000s).
• -  Max Roach (b. Jan. 10, 1924, in Newland, N.C. - d. Aug. 16, 2007, in New York, N.Y.) was an American jazz drummer and percussionist, composer, educator, and activist.
• -  Collection material chiefly in English.
• -  Purchase; Music Division, Library of Congress; 2012.
• -  Collection material chiefly in English.
• -  Purchase; Library of Congress Music Division; 2012.
• -  Sound and video recordings; Max Roach Collection (MAVIS no. 14711); Transferred to the Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, Library of Congress. An inventory of this material is available in the Music Division's collection file.
• -  The Charles Mingus Collection contains a small quantity of business papers and photographs of Max Roach.
• -  Electronic files Received as a part of the Max Roach Papers by the Library of Congress Music Division; consult reference staff in the Performing Arts Reading Room for more information.
• -  Finding aid available in the Library of Congress Performing Arts Reading Room and at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/eadmus.mu016007
• -  Max Roach Papers, Music Division, Library of Congress.

Medium

• approximately 99,000 items (199 boxes, 23 mapfolders, 124.5 linear feet)

Call Number/Physical Location

• ML31 .R62

Repository

• Library of Congress Music Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA dcu https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/perform.home

Library of Congress Control Number

• 2014572475

Rights Advisory

• Certain restrictions to use or copying of materials may apply.

Access Advisory

• Open to research
• Legal documents concerning Roach vs. Mabry; Restricted; 2082.
• Not all materials in this collection may be readily accessible; please request accessibility information well in advance of your visit https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/perform.contact

LCCN Permalink

• https://lccn.loc.gov/2014572475

Additional Metadata Formats

• MARCXML Record
• MODS Record
• Dublin Core Record