Just yesterday I had the incredible good fortune of traveling back to the Bay Area to bear witness at Cafe Stritch’s 4th annual Rahsaanathon. The San Jose jazz club/restaurant (formerly titled Eulipia) spent the week paying tribute to Rahsaan, and on this particular night, the spirit was definitely moving and many Bright Moments were created. Former Rahsaan sideman Steve Turre (Trombone/Sanctified Shells) led a group, affectionately titled “The Eulipia All-stars” with Marcus Shelby on Bass, Darrell Green on drums, Charles McNeil on Alto/Soprano Sax, Matt Clark on Piano and the virtuosic James Carter on flute, clarinet and tenor sax…and not just any tenor sax, but Rahsaan’s tenox saxophone. Betty Neals joined several times, including an emotional rendition of “Theme For The Eulipions.” Rahsaan’s wife, Dorthaan Kirk, was in attendance, thanking the musicians and the “Stritch” owners, the Borkenhagen family. At one point late in the night (though the performance began just before 9pm, the two sets didn’t end until well after 1am, which means we all got a chance to celebrate Rahsaan’s birthday) Steve Borkenhagen brought out Rahsaan’s top hat that he wore for the “Return Of The 5,000lb Man” cover, the picture of which adorns the side of the club. It was a truly beautiful experience, and one that I hope I get to experience again in 2017.
Bright Moments!
The first year, we practically had to wrangle in people who didn t really know who Rahsaan Roland Kirk was, Maxwell said. And now it feels like a family that keeps coming back and growing, and they understand who he was and feel this connection to his legacy.