One of the reasons I don’t post here more often is an
inability to choose which of the ever-growing pile of recordings and books gradually
encroaching on my living space should get the nod. This time I tried a new
technique―picking
a CD from the top of the nearest stack.
Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s We
Free Kings, one of his early albums, finds him already formed―not
just the three horns played at once, the speech-fluting, and the occasional
siren, but his deep knowledge of the jazz tradition put to work in the service
of innovation. It’s odd to remember that his approach to instrumentation caused
him to be viewed las gimmicky by some critics. Like Rufus Harley and his bagpipes, Rahsaan’s
originality just wasn’t the right kind for some critics, to the detriment of those who listened to them.
On this album, aside from
some of his well-known compositions like Three
for the Festival and You Did It, You
Did It, I really liked his takes on Moon
Song, an old sweet band favorite, and My
Delight, seemingly based on Tadd Dameron’s Our Delight, a bop classic. In each case, Rahsaan shows both his
interest in and respect for established musical styles while adding his own
unique conception to the mix. Hank Jones, Richard Wyands (piano), Wendell Marshall
and Art Davis (bass), and Charli Persip (drums) provide able backing, but this
is pretty much Kirk’s works.
Here’s the title track, along with Moon Song and My Delight.
We Free Kings:
Moon Song:
My Delight:
