born Jan. 10, 1924, New Land, N.C., U.S.
U.S. jazz bandleader, composer, and drummer.
Roach performed with many of the key bebop players of the mid-1940s, including Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker . He developed a light, flexible manner of keeping time with the ride cymbal rather than the bass drum, updating the role of the drum set for the new music and exploring the melodic possibilities of the drums in his solos. He formed a quintet with trumpeter Clifford Brown in 1954 and continued as leader of his own group following Brown's death in 1956.