Musicians - Rahsaan Roland Kirk

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	Musicians - Rahsaan Roland Kirk

Rahsaan Roland Kirk (August 7th, 1935 - December 5th, 1977) was a blind American jazz saxophonist, perhaps best known for his ability to play more than one saxophone at once. 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 encyclopedic knowledge of jazz history allowed him to draw convincingly on any element 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 vast 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).

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. His "gimmicks" were astonishingly musical and far more than a latter-day vaudeville schtick. He used the multiple horns to play true chords, essentially functioning as a one-man saxophone section. Kirk was a true visionary who insisted that he was only trying to emulate the sounds he heard in his mind.

Listen to this audio clip · (info)

Rahsaan simultaneously playing flute and singing. (audio help)

Kirk was also a major exponent of circular breathing, a technique that he developed to an astonishing degree. 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 blistering speeds. But even without the "gimmicks," Kirk's instrumental technique placed him high in the jazz pantheon, and his comprehensive knowledge of jazz music made him one of the finest instrumental soloists in the history of jazz.

In addition to the saxophones, Kirk was also an extraordinarily influential flautist, employing several novel techniques that he developed himself. One technique was to sing or hum into the flute at the same time as playing. (This technique was adopted later by many other players, including Jeremy Steig and Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull - compare the Kirk tune Serenade to a Cuckoo on their first album.) Another was to play the standard transverse flute at the same time as a nose flute.

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.

Albums as a Leader

King Records

1956 - Triple Threat

Argo/Cadet/Chess Records

1960 - Introducing Roland Kirk

Mercury Records

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

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Rahsaan Roland Kirk ]

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