AMG Review of Candid Roach

Thom Jurek
All Music Guide

The Max Roach volume in Candid’s compilation series features him in four different sessions between August of 1960 and April of 1961, recording historic works such as “Freedom Day,” written with Oscar Brown, Jr. (Abbey Lincoln handles the vocals) and Kenny Dorham’s “Oh Yeah, Oh Yeah,” with the great trumpet master himself and Benny Bailey swinging hard in the front line. There are a couple of sessions with Eric Dolphy that also feature Booker Little, Julian Priester, bassist Art Davis, Lincoln, Mal Waldron, and Coleman Hawkins (“When Malindy Sings” and “In the Red”) as well as a session with Little, Priester, Walter Benson on tenor, and Peck Morrison on bass that feature Roach drumming with the great Jo Jones (“Cliff Walk”). Finally, there’s “A New Day” with Don Friedman on piano with all but Lincoln and Hawkins in the band. This is an excellent overview that sonically sounds a bit better than some of the other individual artist albums on Candid issued previously.