American Masters, Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes

PBS WESTERN RESERVE (WNEO 45.1 / WEAO 49.1):

Friday, Oct. 6, at 9 PM 
Saturday, Oct. 7, at 2 AM

PBS WESTERN RESERVE (WNEO 45.1 / WEAO 49.1):

Saturday, Oct. 7, at 8 PM
Monday, Oct. 9, at 8 PM

This is the story of Max Roach, a musician whose far-reaching ambitions were inspired and challenged by the inequities of the society around him. His stunningly diverse seven-decade career marked him as one of the great musical artists of the 20th century and a pioneering cultural activist at a time when the nation was steeped in racism. 

The film follows Roach across a rich and complicated life, years of now-legendary achievement and deep personal struggle, and the price he paid for his outspoken views. His was an epic musical journey — from the revolutionary jazz of the 1940s to the civil rights years, through experiments in hip-hop, multimedia works and beyond.