Rahsaan Roland Kirk Bakers

RAHSAAN

ROLAND KIRK

Bakers

Rahsaan Roland Kirk is a mul-

ti-instrumentalist n every sense

of the word. Besides just playing

a very beautiful jazz tenor sax in

its own right, the blind genius is

a master of all reed instruments

and, until recently, he could play

three or four of them simultan-

eously.

For the better part of the year,

Rahsaan has suffered the conse-

quences of a crippling stroke. At

Baker's last weekend it was good

to see that, despite paralysis in

one arm, he has lost neither his

versatility nor his love of the

whole range of Afro-American

music.

He is playing as well as ever,

even though he can manage only

two instruments at a time now.

Dressed down in an old top

hat and a necklace of instruments,

Rahsaan was joined by Hilton

Ruiz, piano; Walter Perkins,

drums; Bill Bollar, bass; and

Steve Turre on trombone. When

he plays the Duke's "Creóle Love

Call" his clarinet has the same

New Orleans sound which the

composer intended. After that

he can turn around and cook

with one of the modern jazz clas-

sics from the 40's.

Trombonist Steve Turre has a

very nice sound-kind of wide

and open. This is a refreshing

change from the popular crisp,

sharp sound usually associated

with J.J. Johnson. There are

quite a few other young players

who are developing this newer

sound, notably Detroit's

own Phil Ranelin.

With Kirk you never know

what to expect. This time it was

an exciting show made up of jazz

classics. Next time it could be

exploratory music played in a

very "theatrical" environment.

Whatever Rahsaan plays,

though, it is always well-thought

out and fascinating to hear.

We'll never get enough.

--Geoffrey

Jacques