Bed-Stuy Calls For Max Roach Street Sign

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN -- Bed-Stuy residents are banging the drum for a street sign to honor Max Roach, the legendary jazz percussionist who played with Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and Duke Ellington.

"Max Roach was part of the fabric that is Bed-Stuy Brooklyn," reads a new change.org petition that has been signed by almost 3,000 people. "[He] truly deserves a street named in his honor."

The bebop pioneer spent his childhood in Brooklyn, where he began playing the drums at age 10, performed with the Concord Baptist Church gospel group and, at age 16, filled in to play with Duke Ellington's Orchestra in 1940, according petitioners and his biography.

Roach went on to perform with Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and others, and played a key role as a virtuoso drummer in formation of bebop jazz.

His two children, Dara and Raoul Roach, both signed the petition, which organizers plan to present to Community Board 3 in the fall.

"I'm signing this petition because I'm so honored and pleased to see all the support and love for my Dad," wrote Dara Roach. "Thank you for wanting a street to be named after him."

"He was a son of Brooklyn through and through and proud of the borough that formed him," added Raoul. "From Concord Baptist Church to Boys High School. BedStuy Do or Die!"

Roach's daughter told the Daily News that Roach, who died at age 83, forged friendships with Bed-Stuy rappers in the 1980s and was godfather to MTV host Fab Five Freddy.

"What he loved about hip-hop and the black community in Bed-Stuy…is that they have to make something out of nothing," Dara told the Daily News. "That's essentially what jazz is...the original American music."

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