Roland Kirk “Introducing Roland Kirk” (1960) <i> Chess</i>

Roland (later Rahsaan Roland) Kirk was viewed by many shortsighted critics of the day as something of an illegitimate freak attraction when he burst on the scene in the early ‘60s. Playing tenor sax, flute and a variety of strange brass instruments--as many as three horns simultaneously--he was often dismissed as a gimmicky showman.

But the frail, blind Kirk--who died in 1977, after a series of strokes, at age 41--was not blowing three horns at a time for show. He played highly melodic lines, harmony and counterpoint synchronously, a remarkably innovative feat for which he should have been hailed as a hero rather than rejected as a sideshow attraction.

A master musician, Kirk employed free-form, whole-tone scales a la Coltrane in his solos as well as playing in more traditional, bluesy form. On this, his debut as a solo artist, Kirk served notice that he was a force to be reckoned, both as a musician and as a composer. The influence of his past association with Charles Mingus is evident in the ebullient but deeply rooted original pieces, and his solos, no matter how many horns he used, are at once playful and intellectual.

If his sidemen aren’t quite up to Kirk’s level (with the exception of guest tenor Ira Sullivan), this remains an exciting and groundbreaking coming-out party by one of post-bop’s most important and influential artists.