If Sun Ra was jazz music's Timothy Leary, then Rahsaan Roland Kirk was its Elijah.
Kirk, jazz music's most iconoclastic character, was also one of its most gifted. Once dismissed
as a circus sideshow, he has seen his popularity, as well as his influence, steadily increase over the
past twenty years. Kirk has been called many things—shaman, sage, charlatan, sideshow barker.
But
Rahsaan Roland Kirk represents the free spirit of jazz. He was a fearless improviser who invented
his own
instruments and played them all at once. He was most effective when playing tenor and flute, but
made a good argument for his approach when he worked up a gale force, blowing four reeds at
once (I note his last Hyena release, The Man Who Cried Fire and his variations on Paganini’s
24th Caprice in Am, "Multi-Horn Variations.")
Compliments includes previously unknown and unreleased Rahsaan Roland Kirk. It is a
collection of fragments and complete performances from his November 5, 1974
show at the Backdoor in San Diego, California. This appearance took place about nine months after
Kirk recorded his landmark live recording Bright Moments.
In keeping with the artist's prophet status, these recordings, as well as those on The Man
Who Cried Fire, can be thought of as the Dead Sea Scrolls of jazz. Kirk and company fade in on
a hot "Passion Dance," only to cool down with a beautiful tenor rendition of "My
One and Only Love." A superb juxtaposition of style and genre that characterized Kirk shows
of the period (or any period). "Fly Town Nose Blues" is a flute blues that is very
effective and swinging, albeit weird. Early ‘70s funk is in attendance with "Volunteer
Slavery" and "Blacknuss," peppered with Kirk standards "Old Rugged
Cross" and "Bright Moments."
Kirk’s support is very good, but as in any Rahsaan Roland Kirk performance, the man himself is
the center around which all revolves. He passionately referred to jazz as "black classic
music" and never considered it anything less. Like Beethoven, Kirk elbowed his way to the
front of the line and never acted as if he did not belong there. Kirk allegedly passed away
December 5, 1977. That is certainly not true.
~ C. Michael Bailey
