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Rahsaan Roland Kirk (August 7th, 1936 - December 5th, 1977) was a blind American jazz saxophonist. He was perhaps best known for his ability to play more than one saxophone at once.
Biography
Kirk was born Ronald Kirk in Columbus, Ohio, but felt compelled by a dream to transpose two letters in his first name to make Roland. After another dream about 1970 he added Rahsaan to his name.
Preferring to lead his own groups, Kirk rarely performed as a sideman, though he did record with arranger Quincy Jones, Roy Haynes and had especially notable stints with Charles Mingus.
His playing was generally rooted in soul jazz or hard bop, but Kirk's knowledge of jazz history allowed him to draw on many elements of the music's history, from ragtime to Swing and free jazz. Kirk also regularly explored classical and pop music.
Kirk played and collected a number of musical instruments, mainly various saxophones, clarinets and flutes. His main instruments were tenor saxophone, and two obscure saxophones: the manzello (similar to a soprano sax) and the stritch (a straight alto sax lacking the instrument's characteristic upturned bell). Kirk modified these instruments himself to accommodate his simultaneous playing technique. He typically appeared on stage with all three horns hanging around his neck, as well as a variety of other instruments, including flutes and whistles. Kirk also played harmonica, english horn, recorders and was a competent trumpeter. He often had unique approaches, using a saxophone mouthpiece on a trumpet or playing nose flute. He additionally used many extramusical sounds in his art, such as alarm clocks, whistles, sirens, and even primitive electronic sounds (before such things became commonplace).
Kirk was also an influential flautist, employing several techniques that he developed himself. One technique was to sing or hum into the flute at the same time as playing. Another was to play the standard transverse flute at the same time as a nose flute.
Some observers thought that Kirk's bizarre onstage appearance and simultaneous multi-instrumentalism were just gimmicks, especially when coming from a blind man, but these opinions usually vanished when Kirk actually started playing. He used the multiple horns to play true chords, essentially functioning as a one-man saxophone section. Kirk insisted that he was only trying to emulate the sounds he heard in his mind.
Kirk was also a major exponent and practitioner of circular breathing. Circular breathing is when a wind player exhales through the horn's mouthpiece while simultaneously inhaling through the nose. Using this technique, Kirk was not only able to sustain a single note for a virtually any length of time, he could also play sixteenth-note runs of almost unlimited length, and at high speeds.
In 1975, Kirk suffered a major cerebral vascular accident (stroke) which led to partial paralysis of one side of his body. Despite this, he continued to perform, modifying his instruments himself to enable him to play with only one arm. At a live performance at Ronnie Scott's club in London he even managed to play two instruments, and carried on to tour internationally and even appear on TV.
He died from a second stroke in 1977 after performing at the Bluebird nightclub in Bloomington, Indiana.
Legacy and influence
Kirk's technique of humming while playing the flute was adopted later by many other players, including Jeremy Steig, and Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull;(who covered the Kirk tune "Serenade to a Cuckoo" on Jethro Tull's first album This Was in 1968). In 1978 the number one UK single "Hit me with your rhythm stick" by Ian Dury and the Blockheads featured saxophonist Davey Payne playing a solo with two saxes simultaneously, in the manner of Kirk.
Albums as a Leader
King Records
- 1956 - Triple Threat
- 1960 - Introducing Roland Kirk
- 1961 - We Free Kings
- 1962 - Domino
- 1963 - Reeds & Deeds
- 1963 - Kirk in Copenhagen
- 1964 - Roland Kirk Meets the Benny Golson Orchestra
- 1964 - I Talk to the Spirits
- 1964 - Gifts and Messages
- 1965 - Slightly Latin
- 1965 - Rip, Rig and Panic
- 1967 - Now Please Don't You Cry, Beautiful Edith
- 1965 - Here Comes the Whistleman
- 1967 - The Inflated Tear
- 1968 - Left and Right
- 1968 - Volunteered Slavery
- 1970 - Rahsaan Rahsaan
- 1971 - Natural Black Inventions: Root Strata
- 1971 - Blacknuss
- 1972 - A Meeting of the Times
- 1973 - Bright Moments
- 1973 - Prepare Thyself to Deal With a Miracle
- 1973 - The Art of Rahsaan Roland Kirk
- 1975 - The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color
- 1976 - Other Folks' Music
- 1975 - The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man
- 1976 - Kirkatron - Warner Brothers Records
- 1977 - Boogie-Woogie String Along for Real
Posthumous Releases of New Material
- I, Eye, Aye: Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 1972 - Rhino
- The Man Who Cried Fire - Night
- Dog Years in the Fourth Ring - 32 Jazz
- Compliments of the Mysterious Phantom - Hyena
- Brotherman in the Fatherland - Hyena
Compilations
- Rahsaan: The Complete Mercury Recordings Of Roland Kirk
- Does Your House Have Lions: The Rahsaan Roland Kirk Anthology
- Simmer, Reduce, Garnish & Serve
External links
- the Rahsaan Roland Kirk website
- NY daily news Stopping the white wash - Rahsaan Roland Kirk on TV
- Roland Kirk Discography (Jazz Discography Project)
Biography
- Kruth, John: Bright Moments. The Life and Legacy of Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Welcome Rain Publishers, New York 2000 ISBN 1-56649-105-3
1935 births | 1977 deaths | African American musicians | American saxophonists | Jazz saxophonists | Jazz flautists | Jazz composers | Multi-instrumentalists | Blind musicians
"Rahsaan Roland Kirk"