Max Roach Protest Songs

Saturday, January 22, 2022 - 7:00pm

Vocalist Christine Correa along with her collaborators Sam Newsome, Michael Sarin, Kim Cass and Andrew Boudreau present the rarely performed compositions of percussionist Max Roach. The music is drawn from Roach’s Freedom Now Suite and Percussion Bitter Sweet recordings of the 1960’s from a period in Roach’s career when he was deeply engaged in the struggle for civil rights and freedoms. The original recordings featured the powerful voice of Abbey Lincoln and Oscar Brown Jr’s lyrics. These pieces were created at a specific time in the nation’s history and the music was a reflection of a movement. The musical content and the texts/poems speak truths to the present realities of race relations and politics in America as much as they did in the 1960’s. It is for this reason that they have decided to resurrect these pieces and believe that it is highly relevant to recognize and celebrate this music specifically and Max Roach’s significant contribution to the American cultural landscape and society in general. The evening will be introduced by Prof. Robert O’Meally who is the Director of the Columbia University Center for Jazz Studies.