Rahsaan Roland Kirk – Walk On By
Rahsaan Roland Kirk – Raouf
Rahsaan Roland Kirk – Safari
Rahsaan Roland Kirk – Ebrauqs
As is our custom here on Melting Pot, on this day, August 7th, we always pay tribute to our patron saint, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, on what would have been his 82nd birthday. Slightly Latin is a record that I picked up earlier in the year, during a lightning quick stop at Montebello’s Record Jungle. The title clearly references the use of latin colors and flavors, particularly through the use of percussionists Montego Joe and Manuel Ramos.
Many moons ago, I used to own this music as part of the Complete Mercury Recordings collection. I’d never seen the original vinyl release until I happened upon it at the Jungle. As you can tell, this was part of Limelight’s exquisitely designed series of albums in the mid-1960s, in this case by Daniel Czubak. I’m not sure there are more lovelier designed albums than this series. At least three of Kirk’s albums are featured in it (I Talk With The Spirits and perhaps my favorite from this era, Rip, Rig & Panic) and each one is unique and beautiful in it’s own way. This one was not only designed by Czubak, but also features his very evocative photography, all featured below.
Of course, the real draw is the music, and as always Rahsaan doesn’t disappoint. One of the things I most appreciate about Rahsaan’s work is how he plays around with conventions, especially on popular tunes. Right from the start of “Walk On By,” you know this isn’t going to be the usual treatment as you get this big booming horn sound, that to my ears sounds like Rahsaan doubling his Baritone sax (though he most solos on tenor in the song) with trombonist Garnett Brown. There are few players who could have blown that strong and that long without the use of either additional players or overdubs, but with his circular breathing technique, Rahsaan extends that note for what seems like an eternity. The song is also frequently punctuated by Rahsaanisms such as “Yes, Walk It! Walk It!” and “Strut! Strut!”
“Raouf,” features some largely wordless singing (well, wordless, aside from the title being repeated many times) and, according to the liner notes quoting Rahsaan, was named for a woman who, “had an American name, but she got on the bandwagon with this new African thing, letting her hair grow out natural and changing her name, which used to be Ruth.”
“Safari,” perhaps the standout of the album, was composed by Rahsaan’s bassist for this session, Eddie Mathias. The tune features studio guests on all manner of whistles, flutes and bells, a mainstay of Kirk’s live performances. While “Safari” might be my favorite track on the album, “Ebrauqs” is a really interesting one. It’s without a doubt the most “out” piece on this record, which is interesting given that the title in reverse is “almost Square” (I suppose technically it’s “Squarbe” but when you think about it “Squarbe” IS almost the same as “Square,” just with an additional letter). Rahsaan was often interested in breaking through to “Squares” and breaking “Squares” out of their self-imposed conventional boxes. Perhaps more than any other musician of the 1960s/1970s Rahsaan was able to expertly bridge the gaps between the popular and the avant-garde, and part of what Slightly Latin shows is how he could make “out” sounds more “in” and make “in” sounds more “out,” making it possible to bring everyone together for all the beautiful bright moments Music allows us.
Bright Moments…
