Mr. ROACH: Dizzy Gillespie heard me on a jam session in a place called Monroe's Uptown House.

NPR: Jazz Legend Max Roach Dies at 83

At the same time, the New Jersey native consorts with the jam-band scene, and the songs he covers on his new album, Me Not Me, are not a part of the classic American songbook.

NPR: Marco Benevento: Jazz Not Jazz