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ROLAND KIRK
DOMINO
Roland Kirk - Tenor Sax, Manzello, Stritch, Flute, Nose Flute and Siren
On tracks 1to6 Andrew Hill - Piano, Vernon Martin - Bass, Henry Duncan - Drums
On tracks 7to25 Wynton Kelly, Vernon Martin - Bass, Roy Haynes - Drums
VERVE 543 833-2 2CD
Crotchet

1. Domino

2. Meeting on Termini's Corner
3. Time
4. Lament
5. A Stritch in Time
6. 3-in-1 Without Oil
7. get Out of Town
8. Rolando
9. I Believe in You
10. E.D.
11. Where Monk and Mingus Live/Let's Call This
12. Domino (Alternative take)
13. 14. 15. I didn't Know What Time it Was
    16. 17. Someone to watch over me
    18. 19. 20.21. Termini Corner
    22. 23.24. When the Sun Comes Out
    25. Time Races with Emit

Roland Kirk was unique in the jazz world, there was no one like him before and there has been no one like him since. His live performances were superb musically and extremely entertaining.

This CD is mostly taken from the Domino LP record, but the alternative takes have been included as well plus some other material from around the period (1962). It was in that year that Roland Kirk stole the show at the Newport Jazz Festival, to the absolute delight of he crowd, but with little praise from the critics. They had never seen anyone who appeared on the stage with at least six instruments hanging round his neck and sometimes played two saxophones at once, in harmony! They did not know what to make of it, because they had not seen the like of it before. Roland played all of these instruments brilliantly, two of them the Manzello and Stritch he had had made to his own specification, modelled on two instruments of a previous generation.

The Manzello was modelled on the Saxello a predecessor of the Soprano sax, the Stritch was like a straight Alto sax.

Every performance Kirk gave was completely different, he went where the mood took him, what you could be sure of was that it would always be an exciting sound experience!

On this record he plays all the instruments and sometimes demonstrates his ability at circular breathing, this is a technique where the musician draws in air through the nose whilst blowing out through the mouth. If that does not sound difficult enough just try it! Both the rhythm section used are of the very best, but it is Kirk who steals the show throughout.

'When the Sun Comes Out' is not a tune I know, but it is one I would like to know. It is hard to pick a best track from this album, I have the original vinyl, I confess to not having played it for a while and this VERVE release made me realise just what a musical treat I have been missing.

Don Mather

Don Mather is a Saxophone Player and bandleader in Coventry, UK