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After the local news at noon, this broadcast will celebrate the birthday of drummer and composer Max Roach, one day before he would have turned 100. Roach could improvise in small and large settings; listen, follow, and lead; play rhythmically and melodically; stay on the cutting edge by playing with younger-generation avant-garde musicians; and blend political action into his music. And done with the grace of jazz royalty. This program will highlight his solo, duo, trio, and large-ensemble settings, with a special emphasis on duets, and showcase his partnerships with musical luminaries such as Dizzy Gillespie, Archie Shepp, Anthony Braxton, Mal Waldron, Abbey Lincoln, Cecil Taylor, Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington and others. “Overlooked” is a show focusing on overlooked and under-heard jazz, improvisational, and other fringe music, from early roots to contemporary experiments, a mix of familiar to rare, classic to weird. Live from the shadow of Overlook Mountain in Ulster County.

Playlist
Well You Needn’t - Roach/Randy Weston
Vitus Labrusca (“Overlooked" theme) - Ben LaMar Gay
Salt Peanuts - Roach/Dizzy Gillespie
It’s Time - Roach/Archie Shepp
Birth - Roach/Anthony Braxton
Interaction - Roach/Mal Waldron Let ‘Em Roll - Roach/Connie Crothers
The Day’ll Come - Roach/Abdullah Ibrahim
Duets 1 - Roach/Cecil Taylor
Percussion Discussion - Roach/Charles Mingus
A Drum Major For Justice - Roach/Martin Luther King
Triptych: Prayer/Protest/Peace - Roach/Abbey Lincoln
A Little Max - Roach/Mingus/Duke Ellington
Garvey’s Ghost - Max Roach Percussion Bittersweet
Man From South Africa - Max Roach Percussion Bittersweet
In the Beginning Part 1 - Max Roach solo

Host Rob Saffer is the former Executive Director and Producer of the Creative Music Foundation. While living in Brooklyn for 25 years, he served on advisory boards for Celebrate Brooklyn and Symphony Space. He also curated the Brooklyn Museum’s summer jazz series and helped found The Mingus Big Band.

Overlooked Playlist Archive