Mono Mondays: Max Roach, Drums Unlimited

This week’s Mono Monday release is another one for you jazz lovers out there: an album from the quartet of efforts recorded by percussionist Max Roach during his stint on Atlantic Records during the ‘60s.

Released in 1966, Drums Unlimited remains a unique listening experience even now, but it’s a tremendous opportunity to hear just how amazing Roach could be when he was sitting behind his kit. The six-track album alternates between a trio of solo performances by Roach – “The Drum Also Waltzes,” the title track, and “For Big Sid” – and a trio of songs which find him playing alongside trumpeter Freddie Bubbard, alto saxophonist Roland Alexander, pianist Ronnie Matthews, and bassist Jymie Merritt. The tracks in the latter category, by the way, are “Nommo,” “St. Louis Blues,” and “In the Red (A Christmas Carol),” and it should also be noted that “St. Louis Blues” also features some sweet soprano sax from Roland Alexander.

If you’ve ever found yourself thinking of the words “drum solo” as nothing more than a punchline, then Drums Unlimited may change your tune. As fellow drummer Nasheet Waits said in a piece on Jazz.com, “I think it’s one of the great albums in the history of jazz music, not only for interspersing the solos between the other songs, but also the quality of those tunes: it’s what he played (and) how he played it.”