Biography
Recorded live in concert at the Willisau Jazz Festival on August 30, 1979, The Long March documents another of drummer Max Roach's historic duo collaborations with the leaders of the jazz avant-garde. This stellar date with tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp follows Streams of Consciousness (Piadrum, 1977), with pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, and Birth and Rebirth (Black Saint, 1978), with multi-instrumentalist Anthony Braxton, predating Historic Concerts (Soul Note, 1979), his meeting with pianist Cecil Taylor, by only a few months.
Despite a generational divide, Roach and Shepp share a similar revolutionary ideology, finding common accord in an artistic aesthetic motivated by socio-political concerns. Advocates of positive political change through activism, their mutual respect for jazz tradition informs and enriches their progressive stance, making this meeting especially pointed.
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Embarking on a series of solo and duo excursions, Roach and Shepp invoke the entire spectrum of jazz history, ranging from Roach's vivacious ode to fellow drummer "J.C. Moses"—a melodious trap set rumination of characteristic depth, to Shepp's expansive solo rendition of Duke Ellington's dulcet ballad "Sophisticated Lady."
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.