In honor of Rahsaan Roland Kirk (RIP)

(It also has footage of him snorting some white powder out of a spoon and then offering a toot to the audience -- v. weird to see a blind guy holding out a spoonful of coke [if that's what it is] to a crowd, feeling around for noses. Still worth seeing even w/ out this scene though.)

*tries to recall when was the last time he played something from does your house have lions? on the radio; decides that must've been a while ago*

but, y'know, the kind of personal people used to call "original" back when that still meant something.

I bet you would Julio...I'm surprised you haven't!

sorry I'm just a cynical wreck most of the time but I'll prob give it a listen.

1. Volunteered Slavery
2. I Talk With Spirits
3. Three for the Festival
4. One Ton
5. The Inflated Tear
6. The Call
7. Blacknuss
8. Jack the Ripper
9. Serenade to a Cuckoo
10.We Free Kings

But, as far as tenor players go, he's one of my favorites; he's very limber in terms of switching from gorgeous & subtle to ball's-out circular-breathing bombast, and his appreciation for the history of jazz and music in general really comes through in his compositions & improvisation.

Plus, he's probably (mmmm okay definitely) my favorite flautist evah; his style is very vocal and lyrical and about as intense as flute-playing gets. Of course then sometimes he plays it with his nose (see: "One Ton").

Also "Black Root", one powerful riff with a psychotic breakdown in the middle. The album it's from, "Natural Black Inventions, Root Strata" is a good one to start with if you're looking for odd, bordering on Residential.

I read somewhere that many horn players were wary to play with RRK because he was such a showman and really got into cutting people on the bandstand with his solos.

There's this one Mingus album where Roland and I think Hamiett Bluett are both blowing at the same time and keying each other's saxes, I wish I could remember which one it was. :(

Props for two of his lesser known works: on Roy Hayne's 'Out of the Afternoon', he's playing totally straight-ahead music that should really convince anyone who thinks he's too gimmicky. When he does pull out the three horns at once, it's so smooth that you just think "oh yeah, harmonies, horn section" before remembering that it's him.

The Case of the 3-Sided Dream in Audio Color is a pretty fun if non-definitive RRK record. I think it's post-stroke, so no triple horn action, but that makes it even more amazing that he sounds that good on sax and trumpet. It's got a lot of r&b guys on it and a young Steve Gadd, and it's basically a funk record with fucked up tape collage interludes. There's also a great dirty blues version of The Entertainer and a version of Bye Bye Blackbird where he does imitations of 50s Coltrane on sax and then Miles on trumpet.

B-b-but all good jazz musicians do (or did) this!

Al: I would say the Roy Haynes album that I mentioned above, but then I'm no expert on RRK's discography. I think I'm going to go home and listen to We Three Kings though.

Kirk's playing on 'Oh Yeah' by Mingus - proof he wasn't a charlatan.

This is SO wrong, in fact Roland was great at everything he chose to blow into and great whether he was using mouth or his nose, haha. I hate flutes in jazz generally but I make an exception in RRK's case. The main problem with RRK is that, a bit like Jimi Hendrix, the musicians he played with were rarely as good as he was and some of his bands were a bit pedestrian. But when he played with GOOD musicians he was even better, check out "Rip Rig and Panic", Elvin Jones drums up a storm on that album. Another problem might be that recorded TOO many albums.

Now, i didn't personally listen to every note (as i did step outside from time to time), but since i feel that music lives beyond the proverbial tree falling in the forest, letting play aloud just might be enough.

It's true; there has never been a better flute -- But he's also a saxophonist extraordinaire; best since Pres.

Not a great leader? His rule was absolute! I think he gave everybody opportunity to strut - as long as you could keep your chops grooving. I'm remembering an early outing he did with Jack McDuff working through a younger version of You Did It, You Did It where Kirk totally steamrolled McDuff out of the way after he hit the same pedestrian riff one-two-many times.

And for the love of God, for those of you who haven't dipped into Rip, Rig and Panic/Now Please Don't You Cry, Beautiful Edith go directly to the store.

And speaking of breath, the one tenor solo where does the circular breathing thing and doesn't take a breath for two or three choruses knocked me out unlike anything I've heard in a long time.

Whoa - just listened to RRK for the first time today and he's adeptly scratching my itch for Mingus-meets-Art-Ensemble sounds. So far I've gone through "We Free Kings", "Blacknuss" and "Natural Black Inventions: Root Strata" and each has been even better than the last; "The Inflated Tear" is up next. "Rip Rig and Panic" doesn't seem to be on Spotify, alas.

You should listen to "Prepare Thyself to Deal With a Miracle"

Will do!

Volunteered Slavery is the best one

early (pre-Rahsaan) stuff is pretty good, standard post-bop

I always lol about the Sun Ra anecdote: "he got my name backwards!"

Bright Moments also really good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUYtlMuN_V4&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHE6AL3BEYQ&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SD6tYyrjSQ&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Liy6TQ8FLR4

Bright Moments also really good