Producer Ben Shapiro is a drummer. Host Kenny Washington is too.
And you can hear it in "Drums Unlimited," a new documentary about master drummer Max Roach created by Shapiro for PRX.

This 54-minute program takes us from Roach?s childhood in the south, through his
?Around the clock jazz workshop? in New York City and the death of band member Clifford Brown, to his final years as a master teacher and icon.

And, perhaps most importantly, it takes us inside Roach's method and his contributions from a technical perspective. But it?s in language we can all understand.

Roach stopped using his drum to keep time in a steady four-four. He created a musical commentary between the snare and bass drum, accenting what the others in the ensemble were doing. He also pioneered the idea of the drum solo.

Producer Shapiro interviewed Roach several times during his final years in New York City. He produced several other shows about him.

THIS one is built on the best of the tape, from Roach and from folks who played and grew up in the New York City jazz clubs with him.

We also get some spectacular music and mixing. The show drives, the same way Roach?s pioneering counterpoint on the drums pushed jazz in to hardbop.

A seasoned, well-known host, great stories, and well-chosen tape make this a fun one.

Program in time for Roach?s birthday -- he would have been 84 on January 10 -- especially if you missed a chance to obit him this year.

Anthea Raymond
PRX Editorial Board
Los Angeles
January 2, 2008