Percussion Bitter Sweet

Max Roach | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 16, 1993)
• Original Release Date: 1961
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Grp Records
• ASIN: B000003N6L
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,624 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jazz with a social conscience, November 28, 2000

By 

Tyler Smith (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Percussion Bitter Sweet (Audio CD)

Step into the political/musical world of master drummer with "Percussion Bitter Sweet." This is jazz charged with a social conscience, as immediately evidence by some of the titles, such as "Garvey's Ghost." While albums with overt political motivation can sometimes fizzle musically, this is assuredly not the case with "Percussion Bitter Sweet," which uses superb jazz music to enhance the sense of urgency that characterized the '60s civil rights movement.

Besides, how could a drummer with the superb taste of Max Roach ever trivialize music? And when he is joined by the likes of the brilliant but doomed trumpeter Booker Little, the legendary reedman/flautist Eric Dolphy, the gifted composer and steady pianist Mal Waldron, and the great bassist Art Davis, the musical blend grows richer with every note.

Add to that blend the wonderful voice of a young Abbey Lincoln, and you have an especially powerful musical date. Abbey is at her best on the caustic "Mendacity," which skewers specifically those who dragged their feet on voting rights in the '60s. But the song's contempt for political temporizing could find a sympathetic ear in any decade.

This is music with a heart and soul, and the genuine emotion of the music stands out from the first listen and never wanes. A grand release from one of our greatest musicians and tireless musical innovators.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST HAVE album if you like afro-cuban influenced jazz!!!, September 2, 1999

By 

Holten Norris ([e-mail]) (New York City area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Percussion Bitter Sweet (Audio CD)

This is the afro-cuban influenced jazz sound I've been searching for for years!! (NO exaggeration). Too much of contemporary latin influenced jazz seems somehow either too salsa oriented or too mellow lounge sounding, somehow lacking a real jazz sound. But this recording has a terrific hard bop jazz sound backed with outstanding afro-cuban percussion. This is truely one of the COOLEST jazz albums I've ever heard - I only wish they were making latin influenced jazz this great today! If you like Buena Vista Social Club but want to hear a punchier jazz style, you owe it to yourself to check out this incomparable album. You might also want to check out the 40s & 50s heavily afro-cuban influenced big band jazz sound of Dizzy Gillespie on "The Original Mambo Kings" and on the Verve Masters series. In conclusion, THIS ALBUM IS MORE THAN AMAZING - I CAN'T RECOMMEND IT HIGHLY ENOUGH.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inventive Jazz, September 18, 2000

By 

"wednightprayermeeting" (Bellview, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Percussion Bitter Sweet (Audio CD)

This is an intense album. Max Roach really shines, taking the soundscape of the drum set to another level.

Using this album to voice his social and political concerns, Roach chose top of the line musicians to convey his message, including the exhuberant and masterful Eric Dolphy on alto sax, bass clarinet, and flute.

Influenced by, but not flat out Latin jazz, Roach stirs up a blend of sound that is completely original, bordering on the mystical.

Dolphy indulges in one of his best recorded solos on the twisted 40s style bop number, "Mendacity."

Masterful.