Remembering Max Roach in the centennial year of his birth.

Maxwell Lemuel Roach

(January 10, 1924 - August 16, 2007)

Debut Records was established in 1952 by Charles Mingus and his then-wife Celia, soon after, Max Roach became the third partner. Debut was among the early independent labels where the musicians themselves were in charge. Intended to showcase performances by new musicians, only about two dozen albums were issued before the company closed in 1957.

Debut was the label on which the Jazz at Massey Hall concert album was first issued. Recorded in Toronto, it features Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, and Max Roach, and was the last recorded meeting of long-term musical partners Parker and Gillespie.

Charles Mingus & Max Roach Discography

George Wallington Trio, Debut 1952

Jazz Workshop - Autobiography In Jazz, Debut 1952

Spaulding Givens Trio, Debut 1953

The Gordons with Hank Jones Trio, Debut 1953

The Quintet - Jazz At Massey Hall, Debut 1953

Bud Powell Trio - Jazz At Massey Hall Vol. 2, Debut 1953

Miles Davis - Blue Haze, Prestige 1953

The Magnificent Charlie Parker, Clef 1953

Hazel Scott - Relaxed Piano Moods, Debut 1955 

The Fabulous Thad Jones, Debut 1955

John Dennis - New Piano Expressions, Debut 1955 

Mingus at the Bohemia, Debut 1955

Charles Mingus Quintet + Max Roach, Fantasy 1955

Charles Mingus - Pre-Bird, Mercury 1960

Jazz Artists Guild - Newport Rebels, 1960

Money Jungle, United Artists 1962 

Max Roach and Charles Mingus, Newport Jazz Festival, 1962. Photograph by Joe Alper