This seven-CD box set features 95 tracks from legendary drummer Max Roach's small group, consisting of the 1956-1960 recordings for Emarcy and Mercury Records, as these noteworthy sessions also represent the drummer's post Max Roach-Clifford Brown Quintet output. In 1956 the jazz world witnessed the tragic and untimely deaths of the great trumpeter Clifford Brown and pianist Ritchie Powell. Within these seven CDs, we find Roach maintaining his assault on jazz along with trumpeter Kenny Dorham, pianist Ray Bryant, and the drummer's bandmates from the Clifford Brown years, tenor saxophone giant Sonny Rollins and bassist George Morrow. Jazz aficionados will find a wealth of fantastic music here, as Roach also employed renowned artists such as tenor saxophonists Hank Mobley, Stanley Turrentine, and George Coleman, along with trumpeter Booker Little and many others of note. Essentially, Mosaic Records continues to excel in the reissue department, as they seemingly take great pains to portray or perhaps enhance the original LP recordings for modern day audiophiles and jazz connoisseurs. This collection also includes extensive annotations, biographies of the artists, interviews, recollections, and categorical documentation of the sessions presented in a matrix format. Here, the listener is treated to hard bop renditions of Charlie Parker's "Billie's Bounce" and "Koko," where trumpeter Kenny Dorham and tenor saxophonist George Coleman trade vicious, fierce fours, as the various aggregations and ensembles also tackle standards and originals. The infamous union of Max Roach and Buddy Rich originally titled, "Roach vs. Rich" presents an added bonus to this all encompassing package, as these works are further enhanced by Gigi Gryce's bold, fiery arrangements along with the addition of 14 previously unreleased alternate takes. Simply stated, Roach and Rich perform via a firebrand approach as the musician's distinct styles provide contrast and symmetry to Gryce's radiant horn charts. Basically, these pieces offer a glimpse of two masters/innovators whose respective techniques have often been imitated yet never duplicated. Suffice to state, Rich's blazing speed and unfathomable dexterity counterbalances Roach's complex, melodically constructed rolls, impeccable timing and bop-induced fills. Hence, the two are remarkable as they reciprocate impossibly fast motifs with cataclysmic fury. Overall, this 2000 release should be deemed required listening for astute observers of late-50's bebop and the continuing evolution of modern jazz.
CD1
01. Mr. X (5:18)
02. Body and Soul (6:54)
03. Just One of Those Things (7:21)
04. Ezz-Thetic (9:22)
05. The Most Beautiful Girl in the World (7:07)
06. Woody 'n' You (6:55)
07. Dr. Free-Zee (2:10)
08. I'll Take Romance (4:36)
09. It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) (4:45)
10. Blues Waltz (6:37)
11. Love Letters (8:56)
CD2
01. Little Folks (5:40)
02. Minor Trouble (7:01)
03. Valse Hot (14:26)
04. Lover (6:19)
05. Raoul (4:49)
06. This Time the Dream's on Me (5:21)
07. Tune Up (7:47)
08. Confirmation (4:30)
09. Au Privave (4:20)
10. Anthropology (4:28)
11. Yardbird Suite (3:53)
CD3
01. Billie's Bounce (5:38)
02. Ko-Ko (7:59)
03. Parker's Mood (8:26)
04. Shirley (stereo take) (6:34)
05. My Old Flame (stereo take) (3:37)
06. Sporty (5:50)
07. Stella by Starlight (4:20)
08. Stompin' at the Savoy (2:53)
09. Memo: To Maurice (stereo take) (7:36)
10. Shirley (mono take) (6:41)
11. My Old Flame (mono take) (3:41)
12. Memo: To Maurice (mono take) (7:48)
13. Stompin' at the Savoy (mono outchorus) (0:54)
CD4
01. Spoken introduction by Max Roach (2:33)
02. La Villa (6:19)
03. A Night in Tunisia (8:20)
04. Deeds, Not Words (4:28)
05. Minor Mode (5:30)
06. Tune Up (5:26)
07. Love for Sale (10:00)
08. Prelude (5:10)
09. Lepa (2:11)
10. Connie's Bounce (5:21)
11. A Little Sweet (3:09)
12. Tympanalli (4:56)
13. Bemsha Swing (5:30)
14. There's No You (5:42)
CD5
01. Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing) (4:12)
02. The Casbah (5:02)
03. Sleep (3:23)
04. Figure Eights (4:32)
05. Yesterdays (5:43)
06. Big Foot (5:05)
07. Limehouse Blues (3:47)
08. Toot, Toot, Tootsie, Goodbye (4:00)
09. You're Mine, You (2:46)
10. Come Rain or Come Shine (3:22)
11. Wild Is the Wind (3:20)
12. Speak Low (2:54)
13. I Concentrate on You (4:57)
14. Moon-Faced and Starry-Eyed (2:58)
15. Never Let Me Go (3:07)
16. Namely You (2:56)
17. Never Leave Me (6:52)
18. You're My Thrill (3:41)
CD6
01. Limehouse Blues (alternate take) (3:59)
02. The Casbah (alternate take) (4:31)
03. Big Foot (first alternate take) (5:04)
04. Big Foot (second alternate take) (5:16)
05. Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing) (alternate take) (4:25)
06. Speak Low (first alternate take) (2:09)
07. Speak Low (second alternate take) (2:53)
08. Never Let Me Go (first alternate take) (3:11)
09. Never Let Me Go (second alternate take) (3:15)
10. Come Rain or Come Shine (first alternate take) (3:04)
11. Come Rain Or Come Shine (second alternate take) (3:14)
12. Wild Is the Wind (alternate take) (3:21)
13. You're Mine, You (first alternate take) (3:15)
14. You're Mine, You (second alternate take) (2:53)
15. You're Mine, You (third alternate take) (2:55)
16. I Concentrate on You (alternate take) (4:51)
17. Never Leave Me (alternate take) (6:44)
CD7
01. Quiet as It's Kept (6:13)
02. To Lady (6:09)
03. Lotus Blossom (5:36)
04. As Long as You're Living (5:59)
05. The More I See You (4:05)
06. Juliano (5:45)
07. Parisian Sketches: The Tower/The Champs/The Caves/The Left Bank/The Arch (17:12)
08. Nica (4:49)
09. Petit Dejeuner (4:07)
10. Un Nouveau Complet (3:25)
11. Liberte (6:25)
