Rahsaan Roland Kirk – No Tonic Pres
Rahsaan Roland Kirk – Rip, Rig & Panic
Rahsaan Roland Kirk – From Bechet, Byas And Fats
Rahsaan Roland Kirk – Slippery, Hippery, Flippery
Whether my mood is high or low, one thing that I do not miss is the birthday of the patron saint of Melting Pot, Rahsaan Roland Kirk. The chosen record for this year, Rip, Rig & Panic, is a fascinating album for many reasons. While I think the first release I bought of Rahsaan’s was a compilation of tunes from his Warner Bros. releases, this was one of the first actual albums of his that I heard. Recorded in 1965, just as Rahsaan was about to leave Mercury/Limelight and move on to Atlantic and broaden his sound with the Vibration Society, it’s an album that features perhaps the best small combo Rahsaan ever recorded with.
As soon as Davis and Jones lay down that driving rhythm right out the gate on the first track, “No Tonic Pres,” you know you’re getting ready to hear something special. From there Rahsaan hits you with a swooning barrage of notes, played in tribute to Lester “Pres” Young, yet without mimicking Young’s signature style, and once he’s done you then get a solo from Jaki Byard that somehow seamlessly blends avant-garde piano stylings with old-school (even for ’65) barrelhouse playing that might be my favorite of his in all the recordings I’ve heard him on. Every time I hear “No Tonic Pres,” I just shake my head in disbelief that such a thing could ever been recorded.
Rip, Rig & Panic is also notable because of the sonic experiments that Rahsaan employs much more frequently in later work. In fact, of the albums he released prior to actually taking on the name “Rahsaan,” I’d say this is the most Rahsaan sounding album of his early career. It’s clear that Rip, Rig & Panic was a statement album. Especially judging from the way Rahsaan describes what the title represents.
Those sentiments definitely come through on the most out songs of this set, the title track and “Slippery, Hippery, Flippery,” which were influenced by Edgard Varese’s musique concrète compositions. In fact, almost the entire album is in tribute to musicians that Rahsaan admired. In addition to the Lester Young and Varese, “From Bechet, Byas & Fats” is a tribute to each of those New Orleans legends and “Once In A While,” was apparently for Clifford Brown.
Aside from the music, which is some of the best in Rahsaan’s entire career, another reason this album is fascinating is because of the artwork. When I first came across this album, it was on a CD. I had no idea how beautiful the packaging was until I discovered other albums from around this period of time, including a few I’ve featured previously such as Eric Dolphy’s Last Date, and Charles Mingus’ Mingus Revisited. Of all the artists in this special series (I believe there’s a Terry Gibbs one too, but I don’t own it), Rahsaan actually seems to have the most albums, at least that I’ve tracked down, including Slightly Latin (which I also featured here) and I Talk With The Spirits. But of these three, the packaging on Rip, Rig & Panic is by far my favorite. Along with the music contained on the album, it really is extraordinary, and these pictures don’t do it full justice.
Return Of The 5,000LB Man or Bright Moments might be the Rahsaan albums that I’d most highly recommend to people who are not already fans, but for those who are a bit more adventurous, Rip, Rig & Panic is the one I always recommend, for all of the reasons stated above…Bright Moments y’all
