Please join cinéSPEAK, WRTI, and Ars Nova Workshop for the Philadelphia premiere of Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes (Sam Pollard & Ben Shapiro, dir.; 2023; 1hr 22min).

Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes is the story of 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 times when the nation was steeped in racism.

The film follows Roach across a rich and complicated life, days of now-legendary achievement and also 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, multi-media works, and beyond.

Featuring Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Quincy Jones, Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson, Abbey Lincoln, Harry Belafonte, Abdullah Ibrahim, Sonia Sanchez, Randy Weston & Jimmy Heath!