Max Roach at 100: Collaboration with the Tyshawn Sorey Trio

Composer, multi-instrumentalist, and 2024 Pulitzer Prize winner Tyshawn Sorey and his all-star trio, pianist Aaron Diehl and bassist Harish Raghavan, join forces with the visionary ensemble Sandbox Percussion to celebrate the centenary of legendary drummer, composer, and innovator Max Roach.

A bebop pioneer, Roach collaborated with jazz greats including Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Thelonious Monk. But this concert shines a light on his groundbreaking work as a drummer-composer with M’Boom, the revolutionary percussion ensemble he founded in the 1970s. Touring throughout the ’70s and ’80s, M’Boom redefined the role of percussion in contemporary music, inspiring artists for decades to come.

The evening opens with the Tyshawn Sorey Trio performing music by or associated with Roach. Sandbox Percussion continues the tribute with arrangements inspired by Roach’s legacy, and Sorey concludes the program with Cogitations, an original work honoring Roach’s enduring influence.

Cogitations was commissioned by Wexner Center for the Arts at Ohio State University, NJPAC, the Dina Koston and Roger Shapiro Fund for New Music in the Library of Congress and the 92nd Street Y, New York.