Home » Jazz Articles » Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Jazz Articles about Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Live at Newport 1956-69 + New Releases
by David Brown
Today we will bookend the show with new releases from Hiromi, Ambrose Akinmusire, Fred Hersch, Dan Weiss, and Phillippe Massé . In between, a summer selection of recordings originating from the Newport Jazz Festival between 1956 and 1969. Artists for this set will include Duke Ellington, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Dizzy Gillespie, Teddy Wilson, The Sextet, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Miles Davis. Welcome friends and neighbors to The Jazz Continuum. Old, new, in, out... wherever the music takes ...
Continue ReadingKirk Works, Gospel Roots, New Releases
by David Brown
For this week's show, a set of works featuring Rahsaan Roland Kirk, gospel inspired tracks from James Brandon Lewis and Ray Bryant, solo piano from Mal Waldron and Matthew Shipp, and new releases from Eri Yamamoto (pictured), Anna Webber, Hiromi and more. Playlist Thelonious Monk “Esistrophy (Theme)" from Live at the It Club-Complete (Columbia) 01:50 Jaki Byard “Parisian Thoroughfare" from The Jaki Byard Experience (Prestige) 02:30 The Rahsaan Roland Kirk Quartet “From Bechet, Byas, And Fats" from Rip, ...
Continue ReadingBill Evans, Fire! Orchestra, Roland Kirk Orchestral Works + recent releases and old finds
by David Brown
Join us for another week of the Jazz Continuum. Old, new, in, out, where ever the music takes us. Each week we explore the elements of jazz form a historical perspective. This week we take a look at some large ensemble works from Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Bill Evans and Fire! Orchestra as well as some recent releases from Kalia Vandever, Marc Copland, Joe Chambers and more. Enjoy! Playlist Thelonious Monk “Esistrophy (Theme)" from Live at the It Club-Complete ...
Continue ReadingCharles Mingus: Mingus At Carnegie Hall (Deluxe Edition)
by Chris May
This 2-CD set takes the 1974 album Mingus At Carnegie Hall (Atlantic) and adds seventy minutes of previously unissued material recorded at the same concert. It is as worthwhile an addition to Charles Mingus' recorded legacy as 2020's previously unissued 2-CD set Charles Mingus @ Bremen 1964 & 1975 (Sunnyside). Why it has taken so long for either set to be released is anybody's guess. But at least we have them now. Mingus led many great bands ...
Continue ReadingTransforming A Popular Song
by Matthew Michael Sweeney
One of the most transformative experiences in my life happened while drifting around the Museum of Modern Art in New York a few years ago, standing in awe before Picasso's Seated Woman, one of the many “portraits" of his mistress Marie-Therese Walter. I was astounded at the huge discrepancy between her photograph, which was displayed along with the portrait's descriptive text, and his breath-taking interpretation of her presence in that painting. What kind of genius does it take to transform ...
Continue ReadingRahsaan Roland Kirk: An Alternative Top Ten Albums Guaranteed To Bend Your Head
by Chris May
Jazz musicians are rarely called shamanistic but the description fits Rahsaan Roland Kirk precisely. Clad in black leather trousers and heavy duty shades (he was blind from the age of two), a truckload of strange looking horns strung round his neck—two or three of which he often played simultaneously--twisting, shaking and otherwise contorting his body, stamping his feet, exhorting audience members to feel the spirit and make some noise and handing out bags of penny whistles to help them do ...
Continue ReadingThe Authenticity of Rahsaan Roland Kirk (1961 - 1972)
by Russell Perry
Roland Kirk, who began recording in 1956, had been an ideal sideman for Charles Mingus, appearing on the 1961 release Oh Yeah. In the 1960s, he established himself in the first tier of jazz players with a series of well-received records for Mercury and Limelight before settling into a decade-long relationship with Atlantic. “A stellar soloist, he could play with authenticity and forcefulness in any jazz style, from trad to free, and on a host of instruments—not just ...
Continue Reading
