Max Roach – The Drum Also Waltzes

Transcription ~ Max Roach’s classic 3/4 solo.

Here’s a transcription of Max Roach’s opening solo track from his 1965 Drums Unlimited album.  Played in 3/4 over a consistent foot ostinato, there are no repeats. Max plays a repeated motif but it also varies. The one bar foot pattern consists of the bass drum on ‘1’, the high hat on ‘2’ and a rest on ‘3’. It remains virtually unchanged throughout. Get comfortable playing basic rolls and sticking patterns around the kit with the foot ostinato.

Max plays it fairly freely with some sections a little ambiguous and bit of a challenge to transcribe. I think septuplets and quintuplets from bars 160 are a fair interpretation. I’m open to any other suggestions or fixes.

And of course, swing the eighth notes.

Downloadable PDF’s ;
Max Roach – “The Drum Also Waltzes”