Drums Unlimited

Max Roach: January 10, 1924- August 16, 2007

It was 1993. My drum instructor, Woody Smith, had been pestering me to go out and buy some jazz albums. I didn’t understand why. I had been playing in the school jazz band since I was in seventh grade. I knew the swing ride cymbal pattern (splang, splang-a-lang) and could consistently close the hi-hat on the 2 and 4. What else was there?

One day I found myself in a store with a small tape section and bought two cassettes out of the “Jazz” section that had pictures of drummers on the cover. I played the first tape during the drive home from the store. It was a 1970’s recording of Buddy Rich. I had actually heard of Buddy Rich. The music was exactly what I had expected to hear. Pompous noodling. I felt vindicated.

I played the second tape when I got home. It was all marbled and muddy and slow. I quickly pushed the eject button but was relieved to find the tape was not being eaten. Then I was confused. Was it supposed to sound like that? It did sound pretty cool, like a slow motion freight train. I listened to all of one side. I liked it, but surely something was wrong with the cassette.

After a couple weeks, I got around to returning the cassette. I told the clerk the tape sounded weird. He asked whether the music was weird or if the tape was actually broken. I kind of stammered for a bit, honestly not knowing the answer. Finally, he put it on and instantly recognized it had been demagnetized. I was relieved. I really just wanted a refund but the clerk preferred for me to exchange it with another copy of the same tape so I did. That night I put the new copy into the tape player and lay down on my bed.

Boom, chak-a-chak-a boom chick, boom chick. Boom, chaka-a-chak-a boom chick. I was excited that the tape began with a drum solo. Then, blup-a-blup-a-diddle-diddle-ba-ba- what was that? I grabbed the tape case as I continued listening. “The Drum Also Waltzes.” This didn’t sound like what I knew as jazz or a waltz, and I had definitely never heard a drummer like this before. I had figured a tape titled Drums Unlimited sounded promising, but this guy Max Roach was amazing. By the end of the song I had tears in my eyes. By the end of side one, I was overcome with shame and embarrassment for having pretended to know how to drum. By the end of side two, I had realized the idea that only religious music could be sacred was completely untrue. I flipped the tape over and started it again….

I consider hearing Max Roach’s Drums Unlimited the most pivotal moment of my life.