BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS
Full Name: Ronald Theodore Kirk
Description: Saxophonist, composer, arranger, bandleader – U.S.A.
Known For: Best-known recorded performances is the lead flute and solo on Jones
Instruments: Jazz Saxophone
Music Styles: Jazz, Mainstream jazz, Soul jazz, Hard-bop
Date Born: 7th August 1935
Location Born: Columbus, Ohio, United States of America
Date Died: 5th December 1977
Location Died: Bloomington., Indiana, United States of America
Cause Of Death: Not known
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CONTACT DETAILS
Web Site: http://www.alfanet.hu/kirk/
Other Links: dee below:
YOUTUBE VIDEO
BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
An American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played tenor saxophone, flute and many other instruments.
He was renowned for his onstage vitality, during which virtuoso improvisation was accompanied by comic banter, political ranting, and the ability to play several instruments simultaneously.
He became blind at an early age as a result of poor medical treatment. In 1970, Kirk added “Rahsaan” to his name after hearing it in a dream.
Preferring to lead his own bands, Kirk rarely performed as a sideman, although he did record with arranger Quincy Jones and drummer Roy Haynes and had notable stints with bassist Charles Mingus. One of his best-known recorded performances is the lead flute and solo on Jones’ “Soul Bossa Nova”, a 1964 hit song repopularized in the Austin Powers films (Jones 1964; McLeod et al. 1997).
His playing was generally rooted in soul jazz or hard bop, but Kirk’s knowledge of jazz history allowed him to draw on many elements of the music’s past, from ragtime to swing and free jazz.
Kirk also absorbed classical influences, and his artistry reflected elements of pop music by composers such as Smokey Robinson and Burt Bacharach, as well as Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and other jazz musicians.
In 1975, Kirk suffered a major stroke which led to partial paralysis of one side of his body. However, he continued to perform and record, modifying his instruments to enable him to play with one arm. At a live performance at Ronnie Scott’s club in London.
He died from a second stroke in 1977 after performing in the Frangipani Room of the Indiana University Student Union in Bloomington, Indiana.