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As an old max Roach fan---I list him as my top three drummers---let me comment here.

The 7 cd package is fantastic. It covers a really creative period in Max's life. This is a period when he put things back together after the deaths of Clifford Brown and Richie Powell.

It includes fantastic work by trumpeters Kenny Dorham and Booker Little. And by tenor players Rollins, Mobley and George Coleman. And dig the tuba playing of Ray Draper. Along with some great bass playing by George Morrow, Nelson Boyd and Art Davis.

The original lps include Jazz in 3/4 Time, Max Roach plays Charlie Parker and At Newport.

We see Max expanding the role of the drumset from timekeeping to accompanying---from the back of the band to the frontline, largely replacing the piano and putting more emphasis on the bass, hence the experiment with the tuba.

Max's solo style really develops during this nperiod as well. We get to hear melodic patterns on the drums. And for drummers, the Rich vs. Roach lp, included here is fun. One hears the old technique-as-an-end-in-itsel- no-musical-context solos of Rich contrasted with the open and very melodic solos of Roach.

You can tell I am no fan of Buddy Rich.

The last sets in this collection feature a very different group with the Turrentine brothers, probably in some of their best playing, along with the vocals of Abbey Lincoln.

But this set is not just about drumming but about some really great jazz of the late 1950s by a real innovator. Everyone on these records is at the top of their forms.

Incredible music. Anybody interested in the music of the period must have this set.