SKF NOTE: Here is something Max Roach told me in the early 1980s. I, of course, already had a high appreciation for drummers’ contributions to music. But Max’s words kicked my appreciation up several steps.

I don’t have Max’s exact words in front of me, but these words are very, very close to Max’s exact words:

An A major chord is played the same in jazz as it is in classical music. The makeup of chords doesn’t change from one music style to another.

What changes, what distinguishes one style of music from another, is rhythm.

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