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{{Short description|American jazz musician (1935–1977)}}
'''Rahsaan Roland Kirk''' ([[August 7th]], [[1935]] - [[December 5th]], [[1977]]) was a blind [[jazz]] [[saxophonist]], perhaps best known for his ability to play more than one [[saxophone]] at once.
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->
| name = Rahsaan Roland Kirk
| image = Roland-Kirk.jpg
| caption = Kirk performing in 1972
| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_name = Ronald Theodore Kirk
| alias =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1935|08|07}}
| birth_place = [[Columbus, Ohio]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|mf=yes|1977|12|05|1935|08|07}}
| death_place = [[Bloomington, Indiana]], U.S.
| instrument = Tenor saxophone, clarinet, [[Stritch (saxophone)|stritch]], [[manzello]], [[nose flute]], flute, [[cor anglais]], keyboards, percussion
| genre = [[Jazz]], [[hard bop]], [[soul jazz]]
| occupation = Musician, composer, arranger, bandleader
| years_active = 1955–1977
| label = [[King Records (USA)|King]], [[Chess Records|Chess]], [[Prestige Records|Prestige]], [[Mercury Records|Mercury]], [[Limelight Records|Limelight]], [[Verve Records|Verve]], [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]], [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]]
| past_member_of = [[Charles Mingus]], [[Quincy Jones]]
| website =
}}


'''Rahsaan Roland Kirk''' (born '''Ronald Theodore Kirk'''; August 7, 1935<ref name="Grove">Kernfeld, Barry. "[http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/J248200 Kirk, Roland]." ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'', 2nd ed. Ed. Barry Kernfeld. ''[[Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|Grove Music Online]]''. ''[[Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians#Oxford Music Online|Oxford Music Online]]''. Retrieved February 1, 2009-. "The year of his birth has been widely given as 1936, but his birth certificate gives 1935 and confirms Ronald, not Roland."</ref> – December 5, 1977),<ref name="LarkinGE">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|page=1385}}</ref> known earlier in his career simply as '''Roland Kirk''', was an American [[jazz]] [[multi-instrumentalist]] who played [[tenor saxophone]], [[flute]], and many other instruments. He was renowned for his onstage vitality, during which virtuoso improvisation was accompanied by comic banter, political ranting, and the ability to play several instruments simultaneously.
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.


== Life ==
Kirk played and collected a vast number of musical instruments, mainly various [[saxophone]]s, [[clarinet]]s and [[flute]]s. He also played [[harmonica]], [[english horn]], [[recorder]]s and was a capable [[trumpet]]er.
Ronald Theodore Kirk<ref name="Grove" /> was born in [[Columbus, Ohio]],<ref name="LarkinGE"/> where he lived in a neighborhood known as [[Flytown]]. He became blind at two years old, which he said was a result of improper medical treatment. As a teenager, Kirk studied at the [[Ohio State School for the Blind]].<ref name="LarkinGE"/> By 15, he was on the road playing rhythm and blues on weekends with Boyd Moore's band. According to saxophonist [[Hank Crawford]], "He would be like this 14-year-old blind kid playing two horns at once. They would bring him out and he would tear the joint up." Crawford heard him during this period and said he was unbelievable. He remarked, "Now they had him doing all kinds of goofy stuff but he was playing the two horns and he was playing the shit out of them. He was an original from the beginning."<ref name=Heining>{{cite web|url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/roland-kirk-here-comes-the-whistleman-roland-kirk-by-duncan-heining.php |title=Roland Kirk: Here Comes The Whistleman|website=[[All About Jazz]]|first=Duncan|last= Heining|date= October 19, 2016|access-date=August 27, 2018}}</ref> Kirk felt compelled by a dream to transpose two letters in his first name to make "Roland".<ref name=Heining />{{Failed verification|date=November 2024}} In 1970, Kirk added "Rahsaan" to his name after hearing it in a dream.<ref name=Giddins>[[Gary Giddins|Giddins, Gary]] (2000), "Chapter 47: Rahsaan Roland Kirk (One Man Band)", ''Visions of Jazz: The First Century''. Oxford University Press.</ref>


Kirk was politically outspoken. During his concerts, between songs he often talked about topical issues, including [[African-American history]] and the [[Civil Rights Movement]]. His monologues were often laced with satire and absurdist humor. According to comedian [[Jay Leno]], when Leno toured with Kirk as Kirk's opening act, Kirk would introduce him by saying: "I want to introduce a young brother who knows the black experience and knows all about the white devils.... Please welcome Jay Leno!"<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TCaXb0Fi4HEC&q=leno+%22rahsaan+roland+kirk%22&pg=PT132|title=Satiristas: Comedians, Contrarians, Raconteurs & Vulgarians|last=Provenza|first=Paul|author2=Dan Dion|publisher=HarperCollins|year=2010|isbn=978-0061859342|page=s368}}</ref>{{rp|109}}
His playing was generally rooted in [[soul jazz]] or [[hard bop]], but Kirk's encyclopedic knowledge of jazz history allowed him to draw convincingly on any element of the music's history, from [[ragtime]] to [[Swing (genre)|Swing]] and [[free jazz]].


In 1975, Kirk had a major stroke which led to partial paralysis of one side of his body.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> He continued to perform and record, modifying his instruments to enable him to play with one arm.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> At a live performance at [[Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club]] in London he even managed to play two instruments, and carried on to tour internationally and to appear on television.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/26e696f79975401f8b8677dd8b766e88|title=Newcastle Jazz Festival|work=Genome Radio Times 1923–2009|date=13 November 1976 |publisher=BBC|access-date= October 31, 2017}}</ref>
He was also a proponent of [[circular breathing]] and was reportedly able to sustain a note for over an hour. He played many [[musical instruments|instruments]], and also employed several novel and influential techniques as a [[flute|flautist]]. One technique which he developed was to [[sing]] or hum into the flute at the same time as playing. (This technique was adopted later by [[Jeremy Steig]] and [[Ian Anderson]] of [[Jethro Tull (band)|Jethro Tull]] - compare the Kirk tune ''Serenade to a Cuckoo'' on their first album.)


He died from a second stroke in 1977, aged 42, the morning after performing in the Frangipani Room of the [[Indiana University]] Student Union in [[Bloomington, Indiana]].<ref>{{cite journal|date= December 22, 1977|title=Recalling Jazzman Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Dead At 41|journal=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]]|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company|volume=53|issue=14|pages=14–15|issn=0021-5996}}</ref>
Kirk preferred to lead his own groups, and rarely performed as a sideman, though he did record with arranger [[Quincy Jones]] and had especially notable stints with [[double bass]]ist [[Charles Mingus]].


Columbus Mayor [[Jack Sensenbrenner]] had declared Saturday, Dec. 10, 1970, "Rahsaan day," according to the Columbus Dispatch obituary that appeared on Thursday, Dec. 8, 1977.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 8, 1977 |title=Kirk (Obituary) |pages=34 |work=Columbus Dispatch |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GZLz1lHNgljuSevXazgNw0qZozjJmmbk/view?usp=sharing |access-date=March 17, 2023}}</ref>
In [[1975]] he suffered a stroke which led to partial [[paralysis]] of one side of his body. Despite this, he continued to perform, playing with only one arm, and managed to tour internationally and even appear on [[Television|TV]]. Unfortunately, he died from a second stroke in [[1977]].


Kirk's hometown of Columbus was not appreciative of his work for most of his career. He was thrown out of a local nightclub because his music was too difficult to understand, and he left for Los Angeles and further touring. In the 21st century, jazz fans in Columbus have been embracing his legacy.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.columbusmonthly.com/story/lifestyle/features/2023/05/25/musician-rahsaan-roland-kirk-one-of-columbus-ohios-greatest-artists/70259023007/ | title=The Forgotten Colossus: Rahsaan Roland Kirk is Little-Known, Even in His Hometown }}</ref>
==External links==


== Instruments and techniques ==
* [http://www.eclipse.net/~fitzgera/rahsaan/rrkdisc.htm Discography]
[[File:19720100 RolandKirk KT 06.jpg|thumb|left|Kirk in 1972]]
* [http://www.nydailynews.com/city_life/story/182997p-158794c.html NY daily news ''Stopping the white wash - Rahsaan Roland Kirk on TV'']
Kirk's musical career spans from 1955 until his death in 1977. He preferred to lead his own bands and rarely performed as a sideman, although he did record with arranger [[Quincy Jones]], drummer [[Roy Haynes]] and worked with bassist [[Charles Mingus]]. One of his best-known recorded performances is the lead flute and solo on Jones' "[[Soul Bossa Nova]]", a 1964 hit song repopularized in the ''[[Austin Powers (film series)|Austin Powers]]'' films.<ref name="Henry2008">{{cite book|last=Henry|first=Clarence Bernard|title=Let's Make Some Noise: Axé and the African Roots of Brazilian Popular Music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LiNoYC8pZA8C&pg=PA167|access-date=July 13, 2020|date=August 21, 2008|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|isbn=9781604730821|page=167}}</ref>


Kirk's multi-instrumentality was credited as having a substantial musical conception. This inclusivity included blues music, a love of stride piano and early jazz, and an appreciation for pop tunes.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> But his vision was much wider than that of most of his contemporaries. According to producer [[Joel Dorn]], he was also hugely knowledgeable about classical music. Pieces by [[Saint-Saëns]], [[Hindemith]], [[Tchaikovsky]], [[Antonín Dvořák|Dvorak]] and [[Heitor Villa-Lobos|Villa-Lobos]] would all feature on his albums over the years, alongside standards, pop songs and original compositions. Rahsaan's influences went beyond jazz and consequentially, he preferred the term "Black Classical Music".<ref name="Heining" />
== Biography ==

*Kruth, John: ''Bright Moments. The Life and Legacy of Rahsaan Roland Kirk.'' Welcome Rain Publishers, New York 2000 ISBN 1-56649-105-3
His playing was generally rooted in [[soul jazz]] or [[hard bop]], but Kirk's knowledge of jazz history allowed him to draw from many elements of the music's past, from [[ragtime]] to [[Swing (genre)|swing]] and [[free jazz]].<ref name="LarkinGE"/> Kirk also absorbed [[classical music|classical]] influences, and his artistry reflected elements of [[pop music]] by composers such as [[Smokey Robinson]] and [[Burt Bacharach]], as well as [[Duke Ellington]], [[John Coltrane]] and other jazz musicians.<ref name="LarkinGE"/>

Kirk played and collected many musical instruments, mainly multiple [[saxophone]]s, [[clarinet]]s and [[flute]]s. His primary saxophones were a standard [[tenor saxophone]], [[stritch (saxophone)|stritch]] (a straight alto sax lacking the instrument's conventional upturned bell), and a [[manzello]] (a modified [[saxello]] soprano sax, with a larger, upturned bell).<ref name="LarkinGE"/> A number of his instruments were exotic or homemade. Kirk modified instruments himself to accommodate his simultaneous playing technique.<ref>"With one instrument functioning as a drone and keywork modification to the other two, Kirk was able to play in three part harmony with himself." Stephen Cottrell (2012). ''The Saxophone'', Yale University Press, p. 289.</ref> Critic [[Gary Giddins]] wrote that Kirk's tenor playing alone was enough to bring him "renown".<ref name=Giddins/>

Usually, he appeared on stage with all three horns hanging around his neck,<ref name="LarkinGE"/> and at times he would play a number of these horns at once, harmonizing with himself, or sustain a note for lengthy durations by using [[circular breathing]]. 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 head. Even while playing two or three saxophones at once, the music was intricate, powerful jazz with a strong feel for the blues.<ref name=Giddins/> The live album ''[[Bright Moments (Rahsaan Roland Kirk album)|Bright Moments]]'' (1973) is an example of one of his shows.

Kirk was also an influential flute player, including [[Recorder (musical instrument)|recorders]]. According to Giddins, Kirk was the first major jazz innovator on flute after [[Eric Dolphy]] (who died in 1964).<ref name=Giddins/> Kirk employed several techniques, including singing or humming 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]].

He played a variety of other instruments, including whistles; often kept a gong within reach; the [[clarinet]], [[harmonica]], [[English horn]], and was a competent [[trumpeter]].<ref>See his version of "Bye Bye Blackbird" on ''[[The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color]]'' (1975) in which he introduces the theme on trumpet before switching to saxophones for the remainder of the song.</ref> He utilized unique approaches, such as playing a trumpet with a saxophone mouthpiece.

He also made use of non-musical devices, such as alarm clocks, sirens, or a section of common garden hose (dubbed "the black mystery pipes"). From the early 1970s, his studio recordings used tape-manipulated ''[[musique concrète]]'' and primitive electronic sounds before such things became commonplace.<ref name=Giddins/>
{{Listen
| type = music
| title = Flute
| filename = Rahsaan flute clip.ogg
| description = Rahsaan simultaneously playing flute and singing, punctuated with a siren whistle.
| filename2 = Rahsaan blackmysterypipes.ogg
| title2 = Black mystery pipes
| description2 = Rahsaan playing black mystery pipes.
| title3 = Saxophones
| filename3 = Rahsaan multiplesax.ogg
| description3 = Rahsaan simultaneously playing multiple saxophones.
}}

''[[The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color]]'' was a unique album in the annals of recorded jazz and popular music. It was a two-LP set, with Side 4 apparently "blank", the label not indicating any content. However, once word of "the secret message" got around among Rahsaan's fans, one would find that about 12 minutes into Side 4 appeared the first of two telephone answering machine messages recorded by Kirk, the second following soon thereafter (but separated by more blank grooves). The surprise impact of these segments appearing on "blank" Side 4 was lost on the initial CD reissue of this album (though restored as track 20 on the CD re-release).

He gleaned information on what was happening in the world via radio and TV. His later recordings often incorporated his spoken commentaries on current events, including [[Richard Nixon]]'s involvement in the [[Watergate scandal]]. The ''3-Sided Dream'' album was a "concept album" which incorporated "found" or environmental sounds and [[tape loops]], tapes being played backwards, etc. Snippets of [[Billie Holiday]] singing are also heard briefly. The album even confronts the rise of influence of computers in society, as Rahsaan threatens to pull the plug on the machine trying to tell him what to do.

In the album ''[[Other Folks' Music]]'' the spoken words of [[Paul Robeson]], another outspoken black artist, can be briefly heard.

== Legacy and influence ==
* [[Ian Anderson]], leader and flautist of [[Jethro Tull (band)|Jethro Tull]] recorded a version of Kirk's "Serenade to a Cuckoo" on their first album ''[[This Was]]'' (1968). Roland Kirk was the very reason Anderson thought he could bring a flute into rock music. Anderson learned Kirk's vocalizing style on the flute and Anderson's flute playing became the signature element of Jethro Tull's sound. Kirk and Anderson took the flute's refined upper crust classical nature and commonized it. Anderson got to know Kirk at the 1969 [[Newport Jazz Festival]] where they both performed the same night. Anderson said of Kirk "There's something about these colourful shamans. They can tease us, but we go along with it, because we know they're touched by genius, but at the same time there's a little bit of the snake oil for sale."<ref name="jazztimes.com">{{cite web |last1=Himes |first1=Geoffrey |title=Rahsaan Roland Kirk: The Cult of Kirk |url=https://jazztimes.com/features/rahsaan-roland-kirk-the-cult-of-kirk/ |website=jazztimes |date=May 9, 2019|access-date=15 June 2018}}</ref>
* [[Jeff Coffin]], the saxophonist in [[Béla Fleck]] and the Flecktones was heavily influenced by Kirk's music and says he learned through Kirk that it's OK to experiment with an instrument. He used Kirk's multi-horn inventions with the Flecktones and on his solo album ''Mutopia''.<ref name="jazztimes.com"/>
* Guitarist [[Jimi Hendrix]] "idolized" Kirk, and even hoped to collaborate with him one day.<ref name="Saunders">Saunders, William (2010), ''Jimi Hendrix London'', Roaring Forties Press. {{ISBN|978-0-9843165-1-9}}</ref>
* [[Frank Zappa]] had been influenced by Kirk's music to a considerable extent early in his career. In the liner notes to his 1966 debut album with [[The Mothers of Invention]], ''[[Freak Out!]]'', Zappa cites Kirk as one of many in a lengthy list of personal musical influences.<ref>[http://wiki.killuglyradio.com/wiki/Category:Freak_Out!_%28The_List%29 Freak out wiki] killuglyradio.com</ref><ref>Corcelli, John,
[https://books.google.com/books?id=8e7aDgAAQBAJ&q=frank+zappa+roland+kirk&pg=PT53 ''Frank Zappa FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Father of Invention''], BackBeat Books, 2016.</ref> Kirk and Zappa performed live together at least once, at the 1969 Boston Globe Jazz Festival.<ref>[http://www.afka.net/articles/1969-05_Down_Beat.htm Afka net article], ''Down Beat'', 5/1969 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425222736/http://www.afka.net/articles/1969-05_Down_Beat.htm |date=April 25, 2016 }}.</ref>
*[[Derek Trucks]], a huge Kirk fan, recorded Kirk's composition "Volunteered Slavery" with [[The Derek Trucks Band|his namesake group]] for the 2004 album ''Live at Georgia Theatre'', the 2006 studio album ''Songlines'', and the DVD ''Songlines Live''. He said that hearing Kirk's music "felt much the same way those Hendrix records felt, that he was blowing the rules wide open..."<ref name="jazztimes.com"/>
* [[David Jackson (rock musician)|David Jackson]], of [[Van der Graaf Generator]], was also highly influenced by the style and technique of Kirk, and he plays multiple saxophones simultaneously since at least 1969.<ref>Christopulos, J., and P. Smart, ''Van der Graaf Generator – The Book'', Phil and Jim Publishers, 2005, p. 55. {{ISBN|0-9551337-0-X}}.</ref>
* Guitarist [[Michael Angelo Batio]] said in a 2008 interview with ''[[Ultimate Guitar Archive]]'' that Kirk's playing of two saxophones at once inspired him to create his "double guitar".<ref>[http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/interviews/interviews/michael_angelo_batio_i_always_wanted_my_guitars_to_be_different_and_unique.html "Michael Angelo Batio: I always wanted my guitars to be different and unique"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100406202147/http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/interviews/interviews/michael_angelo_batio_i_always_wanted_my_guitars_to_be_different_and_unique.html |date=April 6, 2010 }}, Joe Matera interview, 2008, [[Ultimate Guitar Archive]].</ref>
* T.J. Kirk was a band named after the three artists it tributed: [[Thelonious Monk]], [[James Brown]], and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Formed by eight-string guitarist [[Charlie Hunter]] as a side group to his own self-titled band, the band's other members include [[Scott Amendola]], [[Will Bernard]], and John Schott.<ref>Bill Meredith [http://www.allmusic.com/artist/tj-kirk-p165793 T.J. Kirk – Biography], ''[[AllMusic]]''.</ref>
* [[Paul Weller]] cited the Kirk album ''[[I Talk with the Spirits]]'' (1964) as one of his "Most Influential Albums" in an interview with ''[[The Times]]'' in 2009.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article6738732.ece|title=Guest List: Paul Weller|newspaper=The Times|date=8 August 2009|access-date= February 12, 2011}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
* [[Björk]] named ''The Inflated Tear'' as one of her favorite jazz pieces, calling it "primitive and instinctive", "open to nature", and "punk".<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1993-07-10 |title=Rebellious Jukebox |journal=Melody Maker |pages=46}}</ref><ref>{{Cite podcast |url=https://pod.link/bjork |title=Debut |website=Björk: Sonic Symbolism |publisher=Mailchimp |date=2022-09-01 |time=21:45}}</ref>
* [[Davey Payne]]'s twin saxophone solo on "[[Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick]]" (Ian Dury & the Blockheads, 1978) was inspired by Kirk.<ref>Balls, Richard (2011), ''Sex & Drugs & Rock 'N' Roll'', Omnibus Press.</ref>
* [[Terry Edwards]]' twin saxophone solo on "The Ministry of Defence" by [[PJ Harvey]] (2016) was inspired by Kirk.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/nov/06/pj-harvey-live-brixton-academy-hope-six|title=PJ Harvey review – protest rock's dark drama queen|first=Kitty|last=Empire|date= November 6, 2016|work=The Guardian}}</ref>
* [[Eric Burdon and War]]'s 1970 debut album ''[[Eric Burdon Declares War]]'' features the track "The Vision of Rassan", which is broken up into two pieces "Dedication" and "Roll on Kirk".
* The English post-punk group [[Rip Rig + Panic]] were named after the album of the same name by Roland Kirk.
* [[Clutch (band)|Clutch]] pay tribute to Roland Kirk in the song "Three Golden Horns" off their 2022 album ''[[Sunrise on Slaughter Beach]].''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://genius.com/Clutch-three-golden-horns-lyrics | title=Clutch – Three Golden Horns }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/clutch-wanted-to-make-a-party-album-it-did-not-go-as-planned | title=Clutch wanted to make a party album: It did not go as planned | date=November 2022 }}</ref>
* Jazz producer berlioz pays homage to Roland Kirk in the track "ode to rahsaan" from berlioz's 2024 album ''open this wall.''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Murray |first1=Robin |title=berlioz Conjures Inspired Sonics For 'ode to rahsaan' |url=https://www.clashmusic.com/news/berlioz-conjures-inspired-sonics-for-ode-to-rahsaan/ |website=Clash |date=21 June 2024 |access-date=26 July 2024}}</ref>

==Discography==
=== As leader ===
* 1956: ''[[Triple Threat (Roland Kirk album)|Triple Threat]]'' (King, 1957)
* 1960: ''[[Introducing Roland Kirk]]'' (Argo/Cadet/Chess, 1960)
* 1961: ''[[Kirk's Work]]'' (Prestige, 1961)
* 1961: ''[[We Free Kings]]'' (Mercury, 1962)
* 1962: ''[[Domino (Rahsaan Roland Kirk album)|Domino]]'' (Mercury, 1962)
* 1963: ''[[Reeds & Deeds]]'' (Mercury, 1963)
* 1963: ''[[The Roland Kirk Quartet Meets the Benny Golson Orchestra]]'' (Mercury, 1963)
* 1963: ''[[Kirk in Copenhagen]]'' (Mercury, 1964) – live
* 1964: ''[[Gifts & Messages]]'' (Mercury, 1964)
* 1964: ''[[I Talk with the Spirits]]'' (Limelight, 1965)
* 1965: ''[[Rip, Rig and Panic (album)|Rip, Rig and Panic]]'' (Limelight, 1965)
* 1965: ''[[Here Comes the Whistleman]]'' ([[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]], 1967)
* 1965: ''[[Slightly Latin]]'' (Limelight, 1966)
* 1967: ''[[Now Please Don't You Cry, Beautiful Edith]]'' ([[Verve Records|Verve]], 1967)
* 1967: ''[[The Inflated Tear]]'' (Atlantic, 1968)
* 1968: ''[[Left & Right (album)|Left & Right]]'' (Atlantic, 1969)
* 1968–69: ''[[Volunteered Slavery]]'' (Atlantic, 1969)
* 1970: ''[[Rahsaan Rahsaan]]'' (Atlantic, 1970) – live
* 1971: ''[[Natural Black Inventions: Root Strata]]'' (Atlantic, 1971)
* 1971: ''[[Blacknuss]]'' (Atlantic, 1972)
* 1965, 72: ''[[A Meeting of the Times]]'' (Atlantic, 1972)
* 1972: ''[[I, Eye, Aye: Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 1972]]'' (Rhino, 1996) – live. posthumous release.
* 1972: ''[[Brotherman in the Fatherland]]'' (Hyena, 2006) – live in Germany. posthumous release.
* 1973: ''[[Prepare Thyself to Deal With a Miracle]]'' (Atlantic, 1973)
* 1973: ''[[Bright Moments (Rahsaan Roland Kirk album)|Bright Moments]]'' (Atlantic, 1974)
* 1974: ''Compliments of the Mysterious Phantom'' (Hyena, 2003) – live. posthumous release.
* 1975: ''[[The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color]]'' (Atlantic, 1975)
* 1975: ''[[The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man]]'' (Warner Bros., 1976)
* 1975–76: ''[[Kirkatron]]'' (Warner Bros., 1977) – partially live
* 1975–76: ''[[Boogie-Woogie String Along for Real]]'' (Warner Bros., 1977)
* 1976: ''[[Other Folks' Music]]'' (Atlantic, 1976)

'''Compilations and box sets'''
* ''Hip'' (Fontana, 1965)
* ''The Man Who Cried Fire'' (Night, 1990)
* ''Rahsaan: The Complete Mercury Recordings of Roland Kirk'' (Mercury, 1990)[10CD]
* ''Does Your House Have Lions: The Rahsaan Roland Kirk Anthology'' (Rhino, 1993)[2CD]
* ''Simmer, Reduce, Garnish & Serve'' (Warner Archives, 1995) – compilation from his last three albums
* ''Talkin' Verve: Roots of Acid Jazz'' (Verve, 1996)
* ''The Art of Rahsaan Roland Kirk - The Atlantic'' (Atlantic, 1996)[2LP]
* ''[[Dog Years in the Fourth Ring]]'' (32 Jazz, 1997) – rec. 1963-75
* ''Aces Back to Back'' (32 Jazz, 1998)[4CD] – combines ''[[Left & Right (album)|Left & Right]]'' (1968), ''[[Rahsaan Rahsaan]]'' (1970), ''[[Prepare Thyself to Deal With a Miracle]]'' (1973) and ''[[Other Folks' Music]]'' (1976)
* ''A Standing Eight'' (32 Jazz, 1998)[2CD] – combines ''[[The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man]]'' (1976), ''[[Kirkatron]]'' (1977) and ''[[Boogie-Woogie String Along for Real]]'' (1977)
* ''Left Hook, Right Cross'' (32 Jazz, 1999)[2CD] – combines ''[[Volunteered Slavery]]'' (1969) and ''[[Blacknuss]]'' (1972)
* ''Third Dimension and Beyond'' (Gambit, 2005) – combines ''[[Triple Threat (Roland Kirk album)|Triple Threat]]'' (1957) and ''[[Introducing Roland Kirk]]'' (1960)
* ''Only The Best of Rahsaan Roland Kirk Volume 1'' (Collectables, 2009)[7CD] – combines ''[[Blacknuss]]'', ''[[The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color]]'', ''[[The Inflated Tear]]''/''[[Natural Black Inventions: Root Strata]]'', ''[[Kirkatron]]'', ''[[Boogie-Woogie String Along for Real]]'', and ''[[Other Folks' Music]]''

=== As sideman ===
'''With [[Quincy Jones]]'''
* ''[[Big Band Bossa Nova (Quincy Jones album)|Big Band Bossa Nova]]'' (Mercury, 1962)
* ''[[Quincy Jones Explores the Music of Henry Mancini]]'' (Mercury, 1964)
* ''[[I/We Had a Ball]]'' (Limelight, 1965) – rec. 1964–65
* ''[[Quincy Plays for Pussycats]]'' (Mercury, 1965) – rec. 1959–65
* ''[[In the Heat of the Night (film)#Musical score and soundtrack|In the Heat of the Night OST]]'' (United Artists, 1967)
* ''[[Walking in Space]]'' (CTI, 1969)

'''With [[Charles Mingus]]'''
* ''[[Tonight at Noon (album)|Tonight at Noon]]'' (Atlantic, 1964) – rec. 1961
* ''[[Oh Yeah (Charles Mingus album)|Oh Yeah]]'' (Atlantic, 1962)
* ''[[Mingus at Carnegie Hall]]'' (Atlantic, 1974)

'''With others'''
* [[Jaki Byard]], ''[[The Jaki Byard Experience]]'' (Prestige, 1969) – rec. 1968
* [[Tubby Hayes]], ''[[Return_Visit|Tubby's Back in Town]]'' (Smash, 1962)
* [[Roy Haynes]], ''[[Out of the Afternoon]]'' (Impulse!, 1962)
* [[Les McCann]], ''[[Live at Montreux (Les McCann album)|Live at Montreux]]'' (Atlantic, 1973) – live rec. 1972
* [[Tommy Peltier]], ''The Jazz Corps Under the Direction of Tommy Peltier'' (Pacific Jazz, 1967)

== Bibliography ==
* [[John Kruth|Kruth, John]]: ''Bright Moments. The Life and Legacy of Rahsaan Roland Kirk.'' Welcome Rain Publishers, New York 2000 {{ISBN|1-56649-105-3}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Roland Kirk}}
*{{discogs artist|Roland Kirk|Rahsaan Roland Kirk}}
*[http://www.jazzdisco.org/kirk/dis/c Rahsaan Roland Kirk] discography at Jazz Discography Project
*[http://www.rahsaanfilm.com/ Rahsaan Roland Kirk] ''Rahsaan Roland Kirk: The Cases of the Three Sided Dream'', a documentary by Adam Kahan
*[http://www.ubu.com/film/kirk.html Rahsaan Roland Kirk] ''Sound??'', film of Kirk with [[John Cage]] at [[UbuWeb]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090221121458/http://www.thirteen.org/soul/episodes/october-4-1972 Rahsaan Roland Kirk and The Vibration Society] performing live (October 1972), video, thirteen.org
*[http://www.jazzonthetube.com/page/52.html Rahsaan Roland Kirk quintet.] Three for Festival and Volunteered Slavery, live performance (1975), video, jazzonthetube.com


[[Category:1935 births|Kirk, Rahsaan Roland]]
{{Rahsaan Roland Kirk}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1977 deaths|Kirk, Rahsaan Roland]]
[[Category:Jazz saxophonists|Kirk, Rahsaan]]


[[de:Rahsaan Roland Kirk]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, Rahsaan Roland}}
[[Category:1935 births]]
[[Category:1977 deaths]]
[[Category:African-American saxophonists]]
[[Category:African-American flautists]]
[[Category:American male jazz composers]]
[[Category:American jazz flautists]]
[[Category:American jazz saxophonists]]
[[Category:American male saxophonists]]
[[Category:American multi-instrumentalists]]
[[Category:Atlantic Records artists]]
[[Category:Avant-garde jazz musicians]]
[[Category:Blind musicians]]
[[Category:Cor anglais players]]
[[Category:Hard bop musicians]]
[[Category:Musicians from Columbus, Ohio]]
[[Category:Soul-jazz musicians]]
[[Category:Chess Records artists]]
[[Category:King Records artists]]
[[Category:Mercury Records artists]]
[[Category:Prestige Records artists]]
[[Category:Verve Records artists]]
[[Category:Warner Records artists]]
[[Category:20th-century American saxophonists]]
[[Category:Jazz musicians from Ohio]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American jazz composers]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American musicians]]
[[Category:American blind people]]
[[Category:Spiritual jazz musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American flautists]]
[[Category:Argo Records artists]]
[[Category:American musicians with disabilities]]
[[Category:DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame members]]

Latest revision as of 22:30, 22 November 2024

Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Kirk performing in 1972
Kirk performing in 1972
Background information
Birth nameRonald Theodore Kirk
Born(1935-08-07)August 7, 1935
Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
DiedDecember 5, 1977(1977-12-05) (aged 42)
Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.
GenresJazz, hard bop, soul jazz
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, arranger, bandleader
Instrument(s)Tenor saxophone, clarinet, stritch, manzello, nose flute, flute, cor anglais, keyboards, percussion
Years active1955–1977
LabelsKing, Chess, Prestige, Mercury, Limelight, Verve, Atlantic, Warner Bros.
Formerly ofCharles Mingus, Quincy Jones

Rahsaan Roland Kirk (born Ronald Theodore Kirk; August 7, 1935[1] – December 5, 1977),[2] known earlier in his career simply as Roland Kirk, was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played tenor saxophone, flute, and many other instruments. He was renowned for his onstage vitality, during which virtuoso improvisation was accompanied by comic banter, political ranting, and the ability to play several instruments simultaneously.

Life

[edit]

Ronald Theodore Kirk[1] was born in Columbus, Ohio,[2] where he lived in a neighborhood known as Flytown. He became blind at two years old, which he said was a result of improper medical treatment. As a teenager, Kirk studied at the Ohio State School for the Blind.[2] By 15, he was on the road playing rhythm and blues on weekends with Boyd Moore's band. According to saxophonist Hank Crawford, "He would be like this 14-year-old blind kid playing two horns at once. They would bring him out and he would tear the joint up." Crawford heard him during this period and said he was unbelievable. He remarked, "Now they had him doing all kinds of goofy stuff but he was playing the two horns and he was playing the shit out of them. He was an original from the beginning."[3] Kirk felt compelled by a dream to transpose two letters in his first name to make "Roland".[3][failed verification] In 1970, Kirk added "Rahsaan" to his name after hearing it in a dream.[4]

Kirk was politically outspoken. During his concerts, between songs he often talked about topical issues, including African-American history and the Civil Rights Movement. His monologues were often laced with satire and absurdist humor. According to comedian Jay Leno, when Leno toured with Kirk as Kirk's opening act, Kirk would introduce him by saying: "I want to introduce a young brother who knows the black experience and knows all about the white devils.... Please welcome Jay Leno!"[5]: 109 

In 1975, Kirk had a major stroke which led to partial paralysis of one side of his body.[2] He continued to perform and record, modifying his instruments to enable him to play with one arm.[2] At a live performance at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London he even managed to play two instruments, and carried on to tour internationally and to appear on television.[6]

He died from a second stroke in 1977, aged 42, the morning after performing in the Frangipani Room of the Indiana University Student Union in Bloomington, Indiana.[7]

Columbus Mayor Jack Sensenbrenner had declared Saturday, Dec. 10, 1970, "Rahsaan day," according to the Columbus Dispatch obituary that appeared on Thursday, Dec. 8, 1977.[8]

Kirk's hometown of Columbus was not appreciative of his work for most of his career. He was thrown out of a local nightclub because his music was too difficult to understand, and he left for Los Angeles and further touring. In the 21st century, jazz fans in Columbus have been embracing his legacy.[9]

Instruments and techniques

[edit]
Kirk in 1972

Kirk's musical career spans from 1955 until his death in 1977. He preferred to lead his own bands and rarely performed as a sideman, although he did record with arranger Quincy Jones, drummer Roy Haynes and worked with bassist Charles Mingus. One of his best-known recorded performances is the lead flute and solo on Jones' "Soul Bossa Nova", a 1964 hit song repopularized in the Austin Powers films.[10]

Kirk's multi-instrumentality was credited as having a substantial musical conception. This inclusivity included blues music, a love of stride piano and early jazz, and an appreciation for pop tunes.[2] But his vision was much wider than that of most of his contemporaries. According to producer Joel Dorn, he was also hugely knowledgeable about classical music. Pieces by Saint-Saëns, Hindemith, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak and Villa-Lobos would all feature on his albums over the years, alongside standards, pop songs and original compositions. Rahsaan's influences went beyond jazz and consequentially, he preferred the term "Black Classical Music".[3]

His playing was generally rooted in soul jazz or hard bop, but Kirk's knowledge of jazz history allowed him to draw from many elements of the music's past, from ragtime to swing and free jazz.[2] Kirk also absorbed classical influences, and his artistry reflected elements of pop music by composers such as Smokey Robinson and Burt Bacharach, as well as Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and other jazz musicians.[2]

Kirk played and collected many musical instruments, mainly multiple saxophones, clarinets and flutes. His primary saxophones were a standard tenor saxophone, stritch (a straight alto sax lacking the instrument's conventional upturned bell), and a manzello (a modified saxello soprano sax, with a larger, upturned bell).[2] A number of his instruments were exotic or homemade. Kirk modified instruments himself to accommodate his simultaneous playing technique.[11] Critic Gary Giddins wrote that Kirk's tenor playing alone was enough to bring him "renown".[4]

Usually, he appeared on stage with all three horns hanging around his neck,[2] and at times he would play a number of these horns at once, harmonizing with himself, or sustain a note for lengthy durations by using circular breathing. 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 head. Even while playing two or three saxophones at once, the music was intricate, powerful jazz with a strong feel for the blues.[4] The live album Bright Moments (1973) is an example of one of his shows.

Kirk was also an influential flute player, including recorders. According to Giddins, Kirk was the first major jazz innovator on flute after Eric Dolphy (who died in 1964).[4] Kirk employed several techniques, including singing or humming 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.

He played a variety of other instruments, including whistles; often kept a gong within reach; the clarinet, harmonica, English horn, and was a competent trumpeter.[12] He utilized unique approaches, such as playing a trumpet with a saxophone mouthpiece.

He also made use of non-musical devices, such as alarm clocks, sirens, or a section of common garden hose (dubbed "the black mystery pipes"). From the early 1970s, his studio recordings used tape-manipulated musique concrète and primitive electronic sounds before such things became commonplace.[4]

Flute
Rahsaan simultaneously playing flute and singing, punctuated with a siren whistle.
Black mystery pipes
Rahsaan playing black mystery pipes.
Saxophones
Rahsaan simultaneously playing multiple saxophones.
Problems playing these files? See media help.

The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color was a unique album in the annals of recorded jazz and popular music. It was a two-LP set, with Side 4 apparently "blank", the label not indicating any content. However, once word of "the secret message" got around among Rahsaan's fans, one would find that about 12 minutes into Side 4 appeared the first of two telephone answering machine messages recorded by Kirk, the second following soon thereafter (but separated by more blank grooves). The surprise impact of these segments appearing on "blank" Side 4 was lost on the initial CD reissue of this album (though restored as track 20 on the CD re-release).

He gleaned information on what was happening in the world via radio and TV. His later recordings often incorporated his spoken commentaries on current events, including Richard Nixon's involvement in the Watergate scandal. The 3-Sided Dream album was a "concept album" which incorporated "found" or environmental sounds and tape loops, tapes being played backwards, etc. Snippets of Billie Holiday singing are also heard briefly. The album even confronts the rise of influence of computers in society, as Rahsaan threatens to pull the plug on the machine trying to tell him what to do.

In the album Other Folks' Music the spoken words of Paul Robeson, another outspoken black artist, can be briefly heard.

Legacy and influence

[edit]
  • Ian Anderson, leader and flautist of Jethro Tull recorded a version of Kirk's "Serenade to a Cuckoo" on their first album This Was (1968). Roland Kirk was the very reason Anderson thought he could bring a flute into rock music. Anderson learned Kirk's vocalizing style on the flute and Anderson's flute playing became the signature element of Jethro Tull's sound. Kirk and Anderson took the flute's refined upper crust classical nature and commonized it. Anderson got to know Kirk at the 1969 Newport Jazz Festival where they both performed the same night. Anderson said of Kirk "There's something about these colourful shamans. They can tease us, but we go along with it, because we know they're touched by genius, but at the same time there's a little bit of the snake oil for sale."[13]
  • Jeff Coffin, the saxophonist in Béla Fleck and the Flecktones was heavily influenced by Kirk's music and says he learned through Kirk that it's OK to experiment with an instrument. He used Kirk's multi-horn inventions with the Flecktones and on his solo album Mutopia.[13]
  • Guitarist Jimi Hendrix "idolized" Kirk, and even hoped to collaborate with him one day.[14]
  • Frank Zappa had been influenced by Kirk's music to a considerable extent early in his career. In the liner notes to his 1966 debut album with The Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!, Zappa cites Kirk as one of many in a lengthy list of personal musical influences.[15][16] Kirk and Zappa performed live together at least once, at the 1969 Boston Globe Jazz Festival.[17]
  • Derek Trucks, a huge Kirk fan, recorded Kirk's composition "Volunteered Slavery" with his namesake group for the 2004 album Live at Georgia Theatre, the 2006 studio album Songlines, and the DVD Songlines Live. He said that hearing Kirk's music "felt much the same way those Hendrix records felt, that he was blowing the rules wide open..."[13]
  • David Jackson, of Van der Graaf Generator, was also highly influenced by the style and technique of Kirk, and he plays multiple saxophones simultaneously since at least 1969.[18]
  • Guitarist Michael Angelo Batio said in a 2008 interview with Ultimate Guitar Archive that Kirk's playing of two saxophones at once inspired him to create his "double guitar".[19]
  • T.J. Kirk was a band named after the three artists it tributed: Thelonious Monk, James Brown, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Formed by eight-string guitarist Charlie Hunter as a side group to his own self-titled band, the band's other members include Scott Amendola, Will Bernard, and John Schott.[20]
  • Paul Weller cited the Kirk album I Talk with the Spirits (1964) as one of his "Most Influential Albums" in an interview with The Times in 2009.[21]
  • Björk named The Inflated Tear as one of her favorite jazz pieces, calling it "primitive and instinctive", "open to nature", and "punk".[22][23]
  • Davey Payne's twin saxophone solo on "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick" (Ian Dury & the Blockheads, 1978) was inspired by Kirk.[24]
  • Terry Edwards' twin saxophone solo on "The Ministry of Defence" by PJ Harvey (2016) was inspired by Kirk.[25]
  • Eric Burdon and War's 1970 debut album Eric Burdon Declares War features the track "The Vision of Rassan", which is broken up into two pieces "Dedication" and "Roll on Kirk".
  • The English post-punk group Rip Rig + Panic were named after the album of the same name by Roland Kirk.
  • Clutch pay tribute to Roland Kirk in the song "Three Golden Horns" off their 2022 album Sunrise on Slaughter Beach.[26][27]
  • Jazz producer berlioz pays homage to Roland Kirk in the track "ode to rahsaan" from berlioz's 2024 album open this wall.[28]

Discography

[edit]

As leader

[edit]

Compilations and box sets

As sideman

[edit]

With Quincy Jones

With Charles Mingus

With others

Bibliography

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

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Kernfeld, Barry. "Kirk, Roland." The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd ed. Ed. Barry Kernfeld. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Retrieved February 1, 2009-. "The year of his birth has been widely given as 1936, but his birth certificate gives 1935 and confirms Ronald, not Roland."
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1385. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  3. ^ a b c Heining, Duncan (October 19, 2016). "Roland Kirk: Here Comes The Whistleman". All About Jazz. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e Giddins, Gary (2000), "Chapter 47: Rahsaan Roland Kirk (One Man Band)", Visions of Jazz: The First Century. Oxford University Press.
  5. ^ Provenza, Paul; Dan Dion (2010). Satiristas: Comedians, Contrarians, Raconteurs & Vulgarians. HarperCollins. p. s368. ISBN 978-0061859342.
  6. ^ "Newcastle Jazz Festival". Genome Radio Times 1923–2009. BBC. 13 November 1976. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
  7. ^ "Recalling Jazzman Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Dead At 41". Jet. 53 (14). Johnson Publishing Company: 14–15. December 22, 1977. ISSN 0021-5996.
  8. ^ "Kirk (Obituary)". Columbus Dispatch. December 8, 1977. p. 34. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  9. ^ "The Forgotten Colossus: Rahsaan Roland Kirk is Little-Known, Even in His Hometown".
  10. ^ Henry, Clarence Bernard (August 21, 2008). Let's Make Some Noise: Axé and the African Roots of Brazilian Popular Music. University Press of Mississippi. p. 167. ISBN 9781604730821. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  11. ^ "With one instrument functioning as a drone and keywork modification to the other two, Kirk was able to play in three part harmony with himself." Stephen Cottrell (2012). The Saxophone, Yale University Press, p. 289.
  12. ^ See his version of "Bye Bye Blackbird" on The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color (1975) in which he introduces the theme on trumpet before switching to saxophones for the remainder of the song.
  13. ^ a b c Himes, Geoffrey (May 9, 2019). "Rahsaan Roland Kirk: The Cult of Kirk". jazztimes. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  14. ^ Saunders, William (2010), Jimi Hendrix London, Roaring Forties Press. ISBN 978-0-9843165-1-9
  15. ^ Freak out wiki killuglyradio.com
  16. ^ Corcelli, John, Frank Zappa FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Father of Invention, BackBeat Books, 2016.
  17. ^ Afka net article, Down Beat, 5/1969 Archived April 25, 2016, at the Wayback Machine.
  18. ^ Christopulos, J., and P. Smart, Van der Graaf Generator – The Book, Phil and Jim Publishers, 2005, p. 55. ISBN 0-9551337-0-X.
  19. ^ "Michael Angelo Batio: I always wanted my guitars to be different and unique" Archived April 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Joe Matera interview, 2008, Ultimate Guitar Archive.
  20. ^ Bill Meredith T.J. Kirk – Biography, AllMusic.
  21. ^ "Guest List: Paul Weller". The Times. 8 August 2009. Retrieved February 12, 2011.[dead link‍]
  22. ^ "Rebellious Jukebox". Melody Maker: 46. 1993-07-10.
  23. ^ "Debut". Björk: Sonic Symbolism (Podcast). Mailchimp. 2022-09-01. Event occurs at 21:45.
  24. ^ Balls, Richard (2011), Sex & Drugs & Rock 'N' Roll, Omnibus Press.
  25. ^ Empire, Kitty (November 6, 2016). "PJ Harvey review – protest rock's dark drama queen". The Guardian.
  26. ^ "Clutch – Three Golden Horns".
  27. ^ "Clutch wanted to make a party album: It did not go as planned". November 2022.
  28. ^ Murray, Robin (21 June 2024). "berlioz Conjures Inspired Sonics For 'ode to rahsaan'". Clash. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
[edit]
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