Max Roach and His Chorus and Orchestra: "It's Time!"

Tonight's Jazz Feature honours Black History Month and throughout February we'll spotlight music that has social significance. We'll open with a piece by drummer Max Roach's band from 1980 first. The piece is a composition by Mr. Roach, and it's called "The Dream/ It's Time". It features the Roach Quartet interspersed by sections of Dr. Martin Luther King's Famous "I have a dream" speech. The band includes Max Roach on drums with Cecil Bridgewater on trumpet, Odean Pope on tenor saxophone and Calvin Hill on bass. Then we go to Roach's famous album with his working band from 1962 plus a 16 voice chorus. The album was called "It's Time!" The band includes Clifford Jordan on tenor saxophone, Richard Williams on trumpet, Julian Priester on trombone, Mal Waldron on piano, Art Davis on bass and of course Max Roach on drums. The chorus is conducted by Coleridge Perkinson. It's a unique combination of chorus and band. Mr. Roach wrote all of the music. The music is primarily instrumental but reflects Roach's concern with civil rights in the USA. The compositions are "It's Time!", "Another Valley", "Sunday Afternoon", "Living Room", "The Profit" and the only vocal by Max Roach's then wife Abbey Lincoln and she sings "Lonesome Lover". This is a fiery and intense listening experience and unique in Max Roach's legacy. "It's Time!" is tonight's Jazz Feature.