1954 · Clifford Brown and Max Roach and 1 more
The 1954–56 Clifford Brown
Library — Drums
Max Roach
3 albums as leader and 22 as sideman (1954–2017), each listed chronologically.
As Leader · 3
As Sideman · 22
Notes on these albums · 6
Sonny Rollins1956 · Saxophone Colossus
Saxophone Colossus
1966 · Drums Unlimited
The assumption that drums exist only to keep time behind other instruments is upended on Max Roach's 1966 album Drums Unlimited, which pairs full quintet tracks with pieces built entirely from unaccompanied drum solos — an unusual move for a mainstream jazz label at the time.
1955 · Julian "Cannonball" Adderley
Jerome Richardson worked reed sections across the bebop era — but in 1959 he found himself in a horn section assembled under an arranger's baton, with Miles Davis, already a star bandleader in his own right, sitting in as a sideman.
1956 · Rollins Plays For Bird
Kenny Dorham died in 1972. Decades later, an unreleased Blue Note tape of his was unearthed and layered with a new rhythm section for the 2021 album Deciphering the Message, giving the performance its first release only after his death.
1956 · Mingus At The Bohemia
Mingus is best known as a bandleader fronting his own groups, but here he turns up as a sideman on a landmark live album. The bass sound at the show was recorded so poorly that Mingus later re-recorded his entire bass part as a studio overdub — the "live" record isn't quite live.
