Rahsaan Roland Kirk

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Roland Kirk, 1972

Rahsaan Roland Kirk (actually Roland T. Kirk; born August 7, 1936 in Columbus , Ohio , † December 5, 1977 in Bloomington , Indiana ) was an American saxophonist , flautist and multi-instrumentalist of modern jazz .

Act

From 1951 he played as a professional musician, including as a sideman with Charles Mingus , Gil Evans , Quincy Jones and in 1962 in the Roy Haynes Quartet ( Out of the Afternoon ), but in the early 1960s he mostly worked with his own groups such as the Vibration Society . He used the nickname Rahsaan since the late 1960s.

The main instruments of the musician, who was blind at the age of two, were the tenor saxophone and two historical versions of the saxophone, namely Manzello (actually a converted King Saxello ) and Stritch (actually a Buescher Es alto saxophone in a straight design, equipped with extra keys for his one-handed playing and enlarged bell). He often played these three at the same time. He was known for using circular breathing to play longer pieces in a continuous tone, that is, without stopping (e.g. in the 21-minute saxophone concerto on the album Prepare Thyself to Deal with a Miracle). There are also pieces where he plays two instruments in a continuous tone. He also played well Flute , electric kalimba , harp , English horn , kazoo , nose flute , melodica . In addition, he occasionally hummed a second voice on a wind instrument while playing.

His music is characterized by the seamless and seemingly natural connection between traditional and very modern ways of playing jazz such as soul jazz , boogie-woogie or free jazz . A habit in the 1970s was for him to smash a chair at the end of every concert after his last number (always Volunteered Slavery ).

Despite a paralysis on one side as a result of a stroke in late 1975, he performed again in 1976, including a. with Charles Mingus and Gil Evans, where he only played with his left hand. A heart attack while driving to the Indianapolis airport in 1977 resulted in his death at the age of 41.

One of his better known compositions is Serenade to a Cuckoo , which was covered by Jethro Tull on her first album This Was . He recorded over 15 albums with producer Joel Dorn .

Rolling Stone magazine chose his album Blacknuss 2013 in its list The 100 best jazz albums at number 49 and his album Volunteered Slavery at number 71.

He had been married to Dorthaan Kirk since the early 1970s and lived in East Orange .

Discography (excerpt)

  • Triple Threat (King Records, 1956)
  • Introducing Roland Kirk (Argo Records, 1960)
  • Kirk's Work (Prestige Records, 1961, with Jack McDuff )
  • We Free Kings (Mercury Records, 1961, with Richard Wyands )
  • Domino (Mercury Records, 1962)
  • Reeds & Deeds (Mercury Records, 1963)
  • Kirk in Copenhagen (Mercury Records, 1963)
  • Roland Kirk Meets the Benny Golson Orchestra (Mercury Records, 1964)
  • I Talk with the Spirits (Mercury Records, 1964, Kirk focuses on the flute )
  • Gifts and Messages (Mercury Records, 1964)
  • Rip, Rig and Panic (Limelight Records, 1965)
  • Here Comes the Whistleman (Atlantic Records, 1965, live )
  • Slightly Latin (Limelight Records, 1965)
  • Now Please Don't You Cry, Beautiful Edith (Verve Records, 1967)
  • The Inflated Tear (Atlantic Records, 1967)
  • Left and Right (Atlantic Records, 1968)
  • Volunteered Slavery (Atlantic Records, 1968)
  • Rahsaan Rahsaan (Atlantic Records, 1970)
  • The Art of Rahsaan Roland Kirk (Atlantic Records, 1970-71)
  • Natural Black Inventions: Root Strata (Atlantic Records, 1971)
  • Blacknut (Atlantic Records, 1971)
  • A Meeting of the Times (Atlantic Records, 1972, with Al Hibbler )
  • Prepare Thyself to Deal with a Miracle (Atlantic Records, 1973)
  • Bright Moments (Atlantic Records, 1973, live Keystone Corner, San Francisco )
  • The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color (Atlantic Records, 1975, with Richard Tee , Steve Gadd, and Hugh McCracken )
  • Kirkatron (Warner, 1975)
  • Other Folks' Music (Atlantic Records, 1976)
  • The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man (Warner, 1976)
  • Boogie-Woogie String Along for Real (Warner, 1977)
  • Brotherman in the Fatherland (Hyena Records, 2006, recorded “live” in Germany, 1972 )

Compilations

  • Rahsaan: The Complete Mercury Recordings of Roland Kirk (10 CDs)
  • Does Your House Have Lions: The Rahsaan Roland Kirk Anthology
  • Simmer, Reduce, Garnish & Serve - compilation of his last three albums

literature

Biography (in English)

  • Kruth, John: Bright Moments. The Life and Legacy of Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Welcome Rain Publishers, New York 2000 ISBN 1-56649-105-3

Individual evidence

  1. Interview with his wife Dorthaan Kirk JazzTimes June 21, 2012
  2. Dorthaan Kirk: A Life in Jazz , interview with Sylvia Levine Leitch, JazzTimes June 21, 2012
  3. Rolling Stone: The 100 Best Jazz Albums . Retrieved November 16, 2016.

Web links

Commons : Roland Kirk  - Collection of images, videos and audio files