Max Roach was one of the most politically active jazz musicians in the second half of the 20th Century. He recorded several overtly political albums over the course of his career, but his most famous is We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite, recorded in 1960 for Candid Records, with lyrics by Oscar Brown Jr. Often cited as an example of jazz protest music, this album is rarely discussed in any detail, and when it is, the focus is almost always on its political implications rather than its music. A significant exception to this pattern is Ingrid Monson's JazzTimes article, "The Freedom Now Suite," which includes background information not found in other sources as well as some specific musical details regarding the album.1 This paper seeks to extend the discussion found in Monson and other sources by looking specifically at the music of the Freedom Now Suite and how that music reflects Roach's views of the American and African civil rights movements by placing elements of traditional African American and African music into a modern jazz context.
Unique among most small group jazz compositions, the Freedom Now Suite is meant to be performed as a whole and is not just a loose collection of individual tunes. Roach continued to perform it throughout the '60s, '70s, and '80s at clubs, festivals, and concerts around the United States and also on European tours. Since the Freedom Now Suite was designed as a unit, any analysis must consider it as a whole in addition to examining the individual tunes.
Max Roach (drums) with Booker Little (trumpet), Julian Priester (trombone), Walter Benton (ten sax), Coleman Hawkins (ten sax), James Schenck (bass), Michael Olatunji (congas), Ray Mantilla (percussion), Thomas DuVall (percussion), Abbey Lincoln (vocal).
Book: Roach, Max. 1960 Freedom Now Suite, New York City, US: Candid Records. Recorded at Nola Penthouse Studios, New York City, on 31st August and 06th September 1960
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