Max Roach 1924-2007

I just read the sad news that Max Roach died yesterday. Max was one of the most influential jazz drummers of the last century.

Although most seem to claim that Kind of Blue is the best jazz album of all time, I have a definite soft spot for Money Jungle, from Blue Note Records, on which Max created a spectacular album with Charlie Mingus and Duke Ellington.

If you're either a fan of jazz and don't know this great album (I've met several people who passed it off because they figured Duke Ellington was purely big band) or if you haven't heard much, take today to listen to this stunning record. If you know it already, sit back, listen and remember some of the amazing records this guy produced. (M+D, you'll find the album in my collection, do put it on).

Max with Billy Harper, Cecil Bridgewater, Reggie Workman, enjoy.



RIP M.R

Kurt Vonnegut 1922-2007, simultaneously

The news and blogosphere are awash with tributes and personal reflections on Kurt Vonnegut who died yesterday at the age of 84. There are a lot of interesting memories and quotations of a man I knew little about, other than what one learns reading Slaughterhouse Five. This is a moving, temporally warped story with perspective altering thoughts on time and memory, fatalism and humanity. The author of the book was clearly both a talented writer and a deep thinker. It's based on his almost unbelievable tale from Dresden where he was one of just 7 US prisoners of war to survive the firebombing, stuck as he was in the meat cellar of Slaughterhouse Five.

Many authors of the blogs I read are deeply into sci-fi and have some lovely and amusing stories of him. Read the posts from these blogs to learn a little more about this intriguing man who sadly past away: Bad Astronomy Blog, Pharyngula, Retrospectacle and NPR for some audio of and about Kurt.