Rahsaan Roland Kirk facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Kirk performing in 1972
Background information
Birth name	Ronald Theodore Kirk
Born	(1935-08-07)August 7, 1935 Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Died	December 5, 1977(1977-12-05) (aged 42) Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.
Genres	Jazz, hard bop, soul jazz, post-bop, avant-garde jazz, mainstream jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer, arranger, bandleader
Instruments	Tenor saxophone, clarinet, stritch, manzello, nose flute, flute, cor anglais, keyboards, percussion
Years active	1955–1977
Labels	King, Chess, Prestige, Mercury, Limelight, Verve, Atlantic, Warner Bros.
Associated acts	Charles Mingus, Quincy Jones

Rahsaan Roland Kirk (born Ronald Theodore Kirk; August 7, 1935 – December 5, 1977) was an American jazz musician. He was known for playing many instruments, especially the tenor saxophone and flute. People loved his energetic performances. He would improvise amazing music, tell jokes, talk about important issues, and even play several instruments at the same time!

Life Story of Roland Kirk

Ronald Theodore Kirk was born in Columbus, Ohio. He became blind when he was two years old. He later said this was due to wrong medical care. As a teenager, Kirk went to the Ohio State School for the Blind. By age fifteen, he was already playing rhythm and blues music with a band on weekends.

Another saxophonist, Hank Crawford, heard him play back then. He said Kirk was an "unbelievable" 14-year-old blind kid who could play two horns at once. Kirk felt like he was told in a dream to change his name to "Roland." In 1970, he added "Rahsaan" to his name after another dream.

Kirk often spoke his mind during his concerts. He would talk about important topics like African-American history and the Civil Rights Movement. This movement worked for equal rights for all people. His talks often included humor and silly ideas. Comedian Jay Leno once opened for Kirk. Leno said Kirk would introduce him by saying, "I want to introduce a young brother who knows the black experience... Please welcome Jay Leno!"

In 1975, Kirk had a serious stroke. This made one side of his body partly paralyzed. But he didn't stop playing! He changed his instruments so he could play them with just one arm. He even played two instruments at a show in London. He kept touring around the world and appearing on TV.

He passed away from a second stroke in 1977. He was 42 years old. This happened the morning after he performed in Bloomington, Indiana.

Kirk's Musical Style and Instruments

Kirk in 1972

Roland Kirk's music career lasted from 1955 until he died in 1977. He usually led his own bands. He didn't often play as a backup musician. However, he did record with famous artists like Quincy Jones and Charles Mingus. One of his most famous recordings is the flute part on Jones' song "Soul Bossa Nova". This song became popular again in the Austin Powers movies.

Kirk was known for playing many different instruments. He loved blues music, early jazz, and pop songs. He also knew a lot about classical music. He included pieces by composers like Camille Saint-Saëns and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in his albums. Because his influences went beyond jazz, he preferred to call his music "Black Classical Music."

His music was often rooted in soul jazz or hard bop. But Kirk knew so much about jazz history. He could use styles from ragtime to swing and free jazz. He also used ideas from classical music and pop music. He was inspired by artists like Smokey Robinson and Burt Bacharach, as well as jazz greats like Duke Ellington and John Coltrane.

Unique Instruments and Playing Methods

Kirk played and collected many instruments. These included different saxophones, clarinets, and flutes. His main saxophones were a standard tenor saxophone, a stritch, and a manzello. The stritch was a straight alto sax without the usual curved bell. The manzello was a changed soprano sax with a larger, upturned bell. Many of his instruments were unusual or homemade. Kirk even changed instruments himself to play them all at once.

He often appeared on stage with three horns hanging around his neck. Sometimes, he would play several of these horns at the same time. He would create harmonies with himself. He could also hold a note for a very long time using a technique called circular breathing. By playing multiple horns, he could make true chords. It was like a one-man saxophone section! Kirk said he was just trying to make the sounds he heard in his head. Even with two or three saxophones at once, his music was complex and powerful jazz with a strong blues feeling. His live album Bright Moments (1973) shows what his shows were like.

Kirk was also an important flute player. He played different kinds of recorders. He used special techniques, like singing or humming into the flute while playing it. He could also play the regular flute and a nose flute at the same time.

He played many other instruments too. These included whistles, the clarinet, harmonica, and English horn. He was also good at playing the trumpet. He used unique ways of playing, like using a saxophone mouthpiece on a trumpet.

He also used non-musical items in his performances. These included alarm clocks, sirens, or even a garden hose. In the early 1970s, he used tape-recorded sounds and early electronic sounds in his studio music. This was before it became common.

His album The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color was very special. It was a two-record set. Side 4 seemed empty, but it had secret messages! About 12 minutes into Side 4, you could hear two phone answering machine messages recorded by Kirk. This surprise was lost when the album was re-released on CD.

Kirk learned about the world from radio and TV. His later recordings often included his spoken thoughts on current events. This included Richard Nixon's part in the Watergate scandal. The 3-Sided Dream album was a "concept album." It used "found" sounds and tape loops. It even had tapes played backward. You can also hear short parts of Billie Holiday singing. The album even talked about how computers were becoming more important.

In his album Other Folks' Music, you can briefly hear the voice of Paul Robeson. He was another black artist who spoke his mind.

Kirk's Impact and Influence

Many musicians were inspired by Rahsaan Roland Kirk:

• Ian Anderson, the leader of Jethro Tull, recorded Kirk's song "Serenade to a Cuckoo." Kirk was the reason Anderson thought he could use a flute in rock music. Anderson learned Kirk's vocalizing style on the flute. Anderson's flute playing became a key part of Jethro Tull's sound.
• Jeff Coffin, a saxophonist, was greatly influenced by Kirk. He learned from Kirk that it's okay to try new things with an instrument. He used Kirk's multi-horn ideas in his own music.
• Guitarist Jimi Hendrix "idolized" Kirk. He even hoped to play with him one day.
• Frank Zappa was also influenced by Kirk's music early in his career. Zappa listed Kirk as a musical influence on his 1966 album Freak Out!. Kirk and Zappa even performed together once in 1969.
• Derek Trucks, a big Kirk fan, recorded Kirk's song “Volunteered Slavery.” He said hearing Kirk's music felt like Hendrix's music. It felt like Kirk was "blowing the rules wide open."
• David Jackson also plays multiple saxophones at once, inspired by Kirk.
• Guitarist Michael Angelo Batio said Kirk playing two saxophones at once inspired him to create his "double guitar."
• T.J. Kirk was a band named after three artists: Thelonious Monk, James Brown, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk.
• Paul Weller said Kirk's album I Talk with the Spirits was one of his most influential albums.
• Björk called Kirk's "The Inflated Tear" one of her favorite jazz pieces. She described it as "primitive and instinctive" and "punk."
• Davey Payne's twin saxophone solo on "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick" (1978) was inspired by Kirk.
• Terry Edwards' twin saxophone solo on "The Ministry of Defence" by PJ Harvey (2016) was inspired by Kirk.
• The song "The Vision of Rassan" by Eric Burdon and War (1970) pays tribute to Kirk.
• The English post-punk band Rip Rig + Panic was named after Kirk's album of the same name.
• The band Clutch honored Roland Kirk in their song "Three Golden Horns" (2022).

Discography

As a Band Leader

King Records

• Triple Threat (1956)

Argo/Cadet/Chess Records

• Introducing Roland Kirk (1960)

Prestige Records

• Kirk's Work (1961)

Mercury Records

• 1961: We Free Kings
• 1962: Domino
• 1963: Reeds & Deeds
• 1963: The Roland Kirk Quartet Meets the Benny Golson Orchestra
• 1964: Kirk in Copenhagen
• 1964: Gifts & Messages

Limelight Records

• 1964: I Talk with the Spirits
• 1965: Slightly Latin
• 1965: Rip, Rig and Panic

Verve Records

• Now Please Don't You Cry, Beautiful Edith (1967)

Atlantic Records

• 1965: Here Comes the Whistleman
• 1967: The Inflated Tear
• 1968: Left & Right
• 1969: Volunteered Slavery
• 1970: Rahsaan Rahsaan
• 1971: Natural Black Inventions: Root Strata
• 1972: Blacknuss
• 1972: A Meeting of the Times
• 1973: Prepare Thyself to Deal With a Miracle
• 1973: Bright Moments
• 1975: The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color
• 1976: Other Folks' Music

Warner Bros. Records

• 1976: The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man
• 1977: Kirkatron
• 1977: Boogie-Woogie String Along for Real

Albums Released After His Death

• The Man Who Cried Fire (Night, 1990)
• I, Eye, Aye: Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 1972 (Rhino, 1996) – recorded live in 1972
• Dog Years in the Fourth Ring (32 Jazz, 1997) – recorded between 1963-1975
• Compliments of the Mysterious Phantom (Hyena, 2003) – recorded live in 1974
• Brotherman in the Fatherland (Hyena, 2006) – recorded live in Germany in 1972

Collections and Box Sets

• Hip (Fontana, 1965)
• 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) – a collection from his last three albums
• Talkin' Verve: Roots of Acid Jazz (Verve, 1996)
• The Art of Rahsaan Roland Kirk - The Atlantic (Atlantic, 1996) [2LP]
• Aces Back to Back (32 Jazz, 1998) [4CD] – combines 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 (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 a Sideman (Playing with Other Artists)

With Jaki Byard

• The Jaki Byard Experience (Prestige, 1969) – recorded in 1968

With Tubby Hayes

• Tubby's Back in Town (Smash, 1962)

With Roy Haynes

• Out of the Afternoon (Impulse!, 1962)

With Quincy Jones

• Big Band Bossa Nova (Mercury, 1962)
• Quincy Jones Explores the Music of Henry Mancini (Mercury, 1964)
• I/We Had a Ball (Limelight, 1965) – recorded between 1964–1965
• Quincy Plays for Pussycats (Mercury, 1965) – recorded between 1959–1965
• In the Heat of the Night OST (United Artists, 1967)
• Walking in Space (CTI, 1969)

With Les McCann

• Live at Montreux (Atlantic, 1973) – recorded live in 1972

With Charles Mingus

• Tonight at Noon (Atlantic, 1964) – recorded in 1961
• Oh Yeah (Atlantic, 1962)
• Mingus at Carnegie Hall (Atlantic, 1974)

With Tommy Peltier

• The Jazz Corps Under the Direction of Tommy Peltier (Pacific Jazz, 1967)