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 1936 - 1977
Jazz musician; born in Columbus, Ohio. He was an exhilarating multi-reed player, a sideman with Charles Mingus in 1960, and the leader of his own groups until suffering a stroke in 1976.
© 2000 Gale Group. All rights reserved.
Rahsaan Roland Kirk was a blind musician who played all manner of saxophone -- including modified horns such as the stritch (a straightened alto) and manzello (a near-soprano) -- as well as the flute and the clarinet. He was able to play three reed instruments simultaneously, often in different keys. Before his death in 1977, Kirk suffered a stroke and was forced to play the saxophone with one hand.
A serious jazzman who pushed the limits of his own ability, Kirk performed standards by Ellington and Gershwin as well as music from Africa and the West Indies. His art encompassed traditional jazz, gospel, the avant-garde, ethnic music, and even pop music.
It's hard to fathom today, but Roland Kirk was one of America's more overlooked saxophonists and was considered a gimmick for much of his early career. For sure, the man was a cagey character, which certainly didn't help his reputation. People were bemused by the way he played multiple horns simultaneously. His style wasn't easy to pin down, either, so fluent was he in every jazz idiom. These factors help explain why folks were confused about what exactly they were listening to.
Even without his idiosyncrasies, Kirk would have been a memorable, innovative, inspiring tenor saxophonist, full of fire, tenderness, wit, and soul. And there was so much more: he remains one of the most compelling, hard-swinging, blues-drenched flute players in jazz history; his stritch and his manzello were capable of great beauty on his beloved ballads; his use of multiple horns included complex, luminous arrangements. In short, Kirk was master of all trades.
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