[JPL] Roland Kirk

[Jim Wilke]

Len, that's certainly the kind of guy he was.  My personal recollection 
of R.R.Kirk comes from doing several live broadcasts with his group 
from The Penthouse in Seattle in the 60s.  Before I saw him in action I 
thought anybody attempting to play more than one reed instrument at a 
time must be attempting some kind of circus act, but the first 15 
minutes of listening convinced me that he was a real creative artist.  
Funny and entertaining, but like Dizzy, serious about his art and an 
unbelievable talent whether playing one instrument or three at a time. 
He usually had several hanging around his neck along with various 
whistles, sirens & nose flutes and he was very creative with duct tape 
to hold them together.  He also stitched together his sets like some 
kind of crazy quilt, employing pop songs, spirituals & hymns, jazz 
burners & ballads, classical pieces and dialogue.

One of my favorite moments came between tunes when he chided listeners 
to the live broadcast ... "I know you're out there" he said,  "sittin' 
in the dark tapin' my music,  while the good folks here in the club are 
spending their money to hear me play!"    We hung out a bit after gigs 
and he revealed himself to be a philosopher and quite a student of 
human nature as well.   I treasure the memory of hearing him in person 
and getting to know him a little.  I certainly paid a lot more 
attention to his albums after that.  I've got audio tape but I wish I 
had video of some of those sets!   Interesting to consider how a guy 
who was blind before it became "visually impaired"  ("BLIND POWER!" he 
used to shout)  was so visually entertaining and how he used that to 
draw people into his aural art.

Jim Wilke
Jazz After Hours, PRI
www.jazzafterhours.org

On Monday, July 2, 2007, at 05:46  PM, Len Dobbin wrote:
>
> The difference perhaps because of his suffering a stroke - "The Jaki 
> Byard Experience" is another that you might like - and check out his 
> work with Mingus.  In person he was UNREAL - a fond memory in 1964, 
> upon discovering it was my birthday, he bought me a beer and dedicated 
> the first set to me. I first met him record shopping in Sam Goodys in 
> NYC - not long before he made his first Montreal appearance.
>
> Try UTUBE he has to be seen as well as heard !
>
> Len
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Phillip Greenlief" 
> <pgsaxo at pacbell.net>
> To: "'Jazz Programmers Mailing List'" <jazzproglist at jazzweek.com>
> Sent: Monday, July 02, 2007 7:55 PM
> Subject: RE: [JPL] Roland Kirk
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> On Behalf Of Len Dobbin
>> Sent: Monday, July 02, 2007 4:32 PM
>> To: Jazz Programmers Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [JPL] Roland Kirk
>>
>>
>> The Roy HAYNES session with Kirk and Tommy was done in May 1962 for
>> Impulse.
>> "Out Of The Aftrenoon" is the title.  "Rip, Rig and Panic" with an
>> entirely
>> different personnel: Jaki Byard, Richard Davis and Elvin Jones is from
>> January 1965.  I don't see the connection.
>>
>> Len Dobbin
>>
>> PG:
>> The connection is the way he plays on both albums...the sound of his
>> horn, phrasing, etc. Yes, they are a few years apart, but HIS playing
>> (not the band) sounds similar to me. On his later recordings he has a
>> really different "sound" on the horns...that's all I was saying.
>>