Revered as one of the greatest jazz drummers of all time, Max Roach was among the first to use music to address social, political, and racial issues of his time. The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, led by Music Director Wynton Marsalis, celebrates the centennial of this trailblazing musician and bandleader, whose innovative style influenced generations to come. He was an influential member of the Charlie Parker-Dizzy Gillespie Quintet, performed alongside Miles Davis on his seminal Birth of the Cool album, and formed the Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet. In 1961, Roach collaborated with his wife, the pioneering singer-songwriter Abbey Lincoln, and said in an interview with Downbeat Magazine that he would only play music that had social significance.