Max Roach Percussion Bitter Sweet

• Max Roach – Garvey's Ghost
• Max Roach – Mama
• Max Roach – Tender Warriors
• Max Roach – Praise For A Martyr
• Max Roach – Mendacity
• Max Roach – Man From South Africa

• 1. Garvey's Ghost
• 2. Mama
• 3. Tender Warriors
• 4. Praise For A Martyr
• 5. Mendacity
• 6. Man From South Africa

Percussion Bittersweet from 1961 captures Max Roach at his most radical, both politically and emotionally, as well as sonically. The album was recorded in Chicago at the height of his civil-rights activism and channels Pan-African consciousness through explosive drumming, modal tension and raw ensemble interplay. Tommy Turrentine, Clifford Jordan and Ray Draper form a fierce front line, but it's Abbey Lincoln who delivers the record's deepest wounds and sharpest truths as her voice cuts through 'Mendacity' and 'Praise for a Martyr' with the sort of fire more often associated with opera. From the Afro-Caribbean vibe of 'Garvey's Ghost' to the intimate ache of 'Mama,' Roach makes protest into poetry here.