Max Roach Jazz In 3/4 Time CD

Personnel: Max Roach (drums); Sonny Rollins (tenor saxophone); Kenny Dorham (trumpet); Ray Bryant, Billy Wallace (piano); George Morrow (bass instrument).
The post-Clifford Brown quintet that drummer Max Roach led tends to get overlooked, but it actually ranked up there with the Jazz Messengers and the Horace Silver Quintet in the late '50s. With tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins becoming a stronger soloist month by month (he was arguably the top tenor in jazz at the time) and veteran trumpeter Kenny Dorham in prime form, Roach was able to stretch himself; the obscure pianist Billy Wallace and bassist George Morrow completed the group. On this LP, Roach explores six songs in waltz time, an innovation for the period (predating Dave Brubeck's recording of "Take Five" by two years). Roach contributed two originals and the group played 3/4 versions of three standards, but it was Rollins' "Valse Hot" (which clocks in on this Mercury album at over 14 minutes in length) that was the hit of the date. These excellent performances show that jazz does not always have to be in 4/4 time in order to swing. ~ Scott Yanow
The waltz is not a rhythm that traditionally swings or grooves. On JAZZ IN 3/4 TIME, however, drummer/bandleader Max Roach changes all that. The program features six numbers in waltz time, including two originals by Roach, one by Sonny Rollins (who plays tenor saxophone here), and three standards written in 3/4: Oakland & Hammerstein II's "I'll Take Romance," and Rodgers & Hart's "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" and "Lover." Though there is a taste of the stately to-and-fro associated with the meter (especially on the intro to Rollins's "Valse Hot"), Roach and company make the form cook.
Interestingly, Roach lays back in the cut, resisting the rhythmic pyrotechnics that established him as the defining drummer of modern jazz. Still, he gently pushes at the boundaries of each measure, making the 3/4 time seem natural, and, with crack rhythm section George Morrow (bass) and Billy Wallace (piano), he provides an expansive backdrop for the horns. Rollins is in superb form here, as is trumpeter Kenny Dorham, whose clean, logical lines nicely offset Rollins's athleticism. This intriguing experiment makes for a thoroughly enjoyable set.

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