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Percussion Bitter Sweet

Verve Vault Vinyl
Artist: 
Max Roach
€29,99

Release date: 12 December 2025

"Percussion Bitter Sweet," released in 1961 on Impulse! Records, is one of preeminent jazz drummer Max Roach's most politically charged and musically expansive recordings. The record reflects Roach's deepening engagement with themes of social justice and Pan-African identity. The inclusion of vocalist Abbey Lincoln — Roach's artistic and political partner at the time — adds urgency and emotional power to the project's most pointed statements.

While not formally structured as a suite, the album's six tracks move fluidly between spiritual lament, militant swing, and improvisational abstraction. The opening piece, "Garvey’s Ghost," sets the tone with Afro-Caribbean rhythmic undercurrents, while "Mendacity" takes aim at hypocrisy with biting horn lines and Lincoln's dramatic delivery. Elsewhere, "Mama" and "Praise for a Martyr" explore personal and collective grief through dynamic interplay and modal intensity. 

Verve Vault Series: Cut and mastered by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound from the original analog tapes and pressed on 180-gram vinyl by Optimal. Gatefold sleeve with iconic original artwork.

 

Tracklisting:

A1. Garvey's Ghost
A2. Mama
A3. Tender Warriors
B1. Praise For A Martyr
B2. Mendacity
B3. Man From South Africa

Max Roach (drums, percussion), Booker Little (trumpet), Julian Priester (trombone), Eric Dolphy (alto saxophone, flute, bass clarinet), Mal Waldron (piano), Art Davis (double bass), Clifford Jordan (tenor saxophone), Carlos "Patato" Valeler (congas), Abbey Lincoln (vocals A1 + B2)