To honour Max Roach’s 100th year, former bandmate and co-founder of the legendary Strata East record label, Charles Tolliver staged renditions of quintessential songs from the iconic Max Roach / Clifford Brown quintet albums, and works from the classic ‘Members Don’t Git Weary’ album he recorded with Max in 1968.
The six musicians enter with leader Tolliver, tall, slim and sporting a beret, giving the audience a potted history of Max Roach and introducing the band. They begin with ‘Powell Prances’ written by pianist Bud Powell’s brother Richie in 1956 while a member of the Max Roach/Clifford Brown group and drummer Darrell Green kicking off a fast and furious bop attack led by Tolliver’s trumpet and Tony Kofi on alto sax. This is all underpinned by bold piano chords until quietened by Tolliver but the keys remain a little high in the mix as Kofi blows superbly. Tolliver steps up, showing he still has excellent chops at 82 with some Eastern stylings, while Green demonstrates his talents showing he’s up to the task of fulfilling Roach’s parts and the three horns unite to finish.
Tolliver pays tribute to pianist Stanley Cowell, who died during the COVID pandemic, telling how they met as members of the Max Roach Quintet. Their last album with Roach was the legendary ‘Members Don’t Git Weary’ and from that they perform Cowell’s ‘Effi’. It begins with Danny Piers’ soft electric piano and the trumpet and saxes sharing lines with Tolliver leading the changes. Camille Thurman takes a solo that receives nods of approval from Tolliver and Kofi as she runs through the whole range of her tenor sax. The drums and Larry Bartley’s bass slow to a ¾ beat for Kofi’s solo in which he demonstrates extraordinary breath control as Tolliver rejoins for a soft finish.
Tolliver says “we’re going to go a little crazy now, if you don’t mind” which comes in the form of Thurman’s sublime, smoky vocals on ‘Always Loved You’, the only new piece in the set. She has a wide vocal range with a tone similar to Dianne Reeves and Sarah Vaughan. The band begin softly but Tolliver soon ups the tempo with Thurman taking this in her stride, even taking a tenor solo before singing the final verse, hitting the high notes with ease.
The first set ends with ‘All Africa’ from Roach’s groundbreaking ‘We Insist! Freedom Now Suite’. Thurman expertly takes on Abbey Lincoln’s vocal singing and chants with drums only and Tony Kofi adding handclaps. This heavily rhythmic anthem was the perfect way to pay tribute to Roach and Lincoln.
For the final portion, Tolliver begins with a three note riff with Thurman again on vocals on a sparse arrangement accompanied by the rhythm section. The tempo increases with Kofi stretching his breath to capacity on a fiery solo with Green seemingly channelling Roach as he drives the group forwards. Piers takes a Horace Silver style solo with stirring stabs and playful flourishes as Tolliver joins Thurman on vocals for the ending.
Cole Porter’s standard ‘I Get A Kick Out Of You’ is another Richie Powell arrangement for the Roach/Brown group with Thurman’s staccato vocal leading into a scat solo that once again showcased her versatility and left her band mates smiling in recognition. They returned to the ‘Members’ album for an enthusiastically received ‘Equipoise’ and we were spoiled with another vocal from Thurman on the title track, originally sung by Andy Bey. The piano vamped with mournful horns, bowed bass and gentle crashes of drums.
The show ends with Tolliver’s ‘Grand Max’ which sees Darrell Green taking the first solo before Tolliver joins and brings in an unsuspecting Kofi for a few bars which he delivers without missing a beat. With a group of musicians this experienced there’s no chance of any errors and Green demonstrates this with his sticks a blur as he takes the final solo of the final piece.
The group take their bows then exit with the crowd still cheering. This was a fitting tribute to the much-loved activist and musician Max Roach with Tolliver proving he’s still at the top of his game.
Brighton Dome Corn Exchange, Tuesday 19th November 2024.
