A tale of two eras: Terri Lyne Carrington pays tribute to the revolutionary spirit of Max Roach on 'We Insist 2025!'

“The much things change, the much they enactment the same,” French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Kerr said successful 1849. Nearly 200 years later, that is sadly existent of the top protestation songs. In 2025, songs similar Bob Dylan’s “Masters of War” and Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” are arsenic needed for their messages arsenic they were erstwhile they were written much than 60 years ago.

So erstwhile Grammy-winning jazz drummer Terri Lyne Carrington acceptable retired this twelvemonth to wage homage to 1 of her stick-wielding idols, the legendary Max Roach, by revisiting his seminal 1961 album, “We Insist!,” it turned retired to beryllium much than a philharmonic tribute. In the process of signaling the medium “We Insist 2025!,” Carrington took clip to bespeak connected however issues of inequality, racism and much that Roach fought against successful 1961 are unluckily conscionable arsenic prevalent today.

“Wow, I can’t judge that this worldly is inactive relevant,” Carrington says. “When we look astatine these examples of however things person shifted successful immoderate ways, but not successful different ways, it tin beryllium precise depressing, particularly close now. When we started this record, the predetermination hadn’t happened yet. I thought I knew what was going to hap during this election, and it was inactive relevant. But present it’s adjacent much relevant.”

Now 59, Carrington, who besides serves arsenic Zildjian Chair successful Performance astatine Berklee College of Music successful Boston, is acceptable to walk on immoderate of the combat for societal justness to the younger generation.

“I bash consciousness similar it’s a youthful game. I had an uncle that I would speech to erstwhile I was successful my 20s, who has since passed. He would accidental that this is your combat now, and I would beryllium huffy astatine him, feeling similar helium wasn’t doing more,” she recalls. “And helium would say, ‘No, this is your combat now. I’ve done it, I’ve been there, I’m tired.’ I get that sentiment too. I’m going to bash immoderate I do, but I’m relying connected the younger procreation and however pissed disconnected I consciousness similar they are and what that volition do.”

Terri Lyne Carrington playing a drum kit.

(John Watson)

Among her galore ventures to champion the jazz euphony she loves truthful overmuch is A&R for iconic jazz statement Candid Records, founded by the large jazz writer Nat Hentoff successful 1960. So, she called connected the younger procreation to assistance stock her imaginativeness of “We Insist 2025!”

“I thought of calling the radical that had been signed oregon were being signed to Candid Records due to the fact that I bash A&R for Candid. So I thought this would beryllium a large accidental to besides radiance a airy connected a batch of these artists, young radical and progressive artists that are being signed close present to Candid. It’s benignant of similar a household gathering; we each came unneurotic to wage tribute to this large creator and this large project,” she says.

At the halfway of the adjacent procreation of jazz artists connected the medium is vocalist Christie Dashiell, with whom Carrington collaborates connected the album.

“Somebody similar Christie Dashiell was truly important to the project, due to the fact that I felt similar the dependable is truthful retired front. It’s what radical subordinate to; the mean receptor relates to the dependable the most,” Carrington says. “I conscionable consciousness similar she perfectly embodies each these antithetic areas of Black euphony traditions. That was truly important, truthful I started there. What is the dependable that’s going to enactment with this idea?”

Having toured with Herbie Hancock and played with giants arsenic Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz, Carrington has a beardown consciousness of jazz past and rightly sees herself arsenic a span betwixt the past and aboriginal of jazz. She made definite that span was beardown connected “We Insist 2025!” by including trombonist Julian Priester connected the record, who, astatine 89, is the past surviving instrumentalist who appeared connected Roach’s 1961 work.

“Jazz has ever been astir these kinds of bridges betwixt generations. It’s been specified an important portion of jazz. Mentorship, apprenticeships — it’s an apprenticeship creation form,” she says. “So we did modern things with this music, but it wasn‘t truthful modern that determination was nary spot for a Julian Priester. I deliberation that the quality to beryllium a span is important — pointing to past legacies, to the instauration of what we basal on, portion trying to besides constituent to the aboriginal oregon bespeak the contiguous is important.”

As overmuch arsenic the album‘s archetypal governmental connection weighs successful this turbulent existent climate, and arsenic overmuch arsenic Carrington wanted to marque the grounds a conveyance for younger artists, the impetus for “We Insist 2025!” was to wage tribute to Roach for the centennial day of his birth. For Carrington, the bosom of her mentation was to grant the euphony and tone Roach created connected “We Insist!”

Jazz drummer Terri Lyne Carrington poses for a portrait.

(David Butow / For The Times)

“I had a past with reimagining projects successful different people’s work, and helping that bequest continue, but doing it successful a mode that besides has my ain individuality progressive successful a mode that truly feels new, successful a sense,” she says. “The euphony is not new, but truthful galore elements astir those things are new. So I consciousness similar it’s reshaping these things a little, adjacent though we didn’t alteration the lyric content. By changing the euphony astir the lyrics, it gives the lyric a antithetic slant.”

As 1 of the country‘s superior ambassadors of jazz euphony today, Carrington hopes the grounds volition present caller fans to Roach’s sizeable bequest portion helping to revive the psyche of protestation music. To that end, she has discussed bigger plans with his family.

“I’ve talked to Max’s son, Raul Roach, rather a spot astir trying to collaborate by doing shows that would beryllium expansive. Doing immoderate of this music, possibly doing immoderate different Max music, similar immoderate of the treble quartet music,” she says. “So we’ve talked astir uncovering ways to proceed this solemnisation of Max Roach and his artistry. There’s a batch determination arsenic a instauration that tin beryllium expanded upon.”