Roland Kirk - Slightly Latin (1966)

01.Walk On By 2:25 Written-By - B. Bacharach - H.David*
02.Raouf 3:02 Written-By - R. Kirk*
03.It's All In The Game 5:17 Written-By - C. Sigman* , C. Dawes*
04.Juarez 5:33 Written-By - R. Kirk*
05.Shaky Money 1:48 Written-By - R. Kirk*
06.Nothing But The Truth 3:02 Written-By - R. Kirk*
07.Safari 4:25 Written-By - E. Mathias*
08.And I Love Her 3:02 Written-By - J. Lennon - P. McCartney*
09.Ebrauqs 8:20 Written-By - R. Kirk*

Arranged By [Vocals] - Coleridge Perkinson*

Bass - Edward Mathias

Congas - Montego Joe

Drums - Gerald Brown*

Flugelhorn - Martin Banks

Other [Liner Notes By] - Leonard Feather

Percussion - Manuel Ramos

Piano, Keyboards [Celeste] - Horace Parlan

Saxophone [Baritone, Tenor, Manzello, Strich] - Roland Kirk

Trombone, Harp [Nagoya Harp], Arranged By - Garnett Brown

Trumpet - Virgil Jones.

Rahsaan Roland Kirk was a uniquely talented musician. Blind from an early age, he had a dream about playing three horns at once, so he learned how to do it and thus became a one-man horn section! Besides virtuouso skills on all manner of reed instruments, Rahsaan was also one of the great jazz flautists of all time (in fact Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson basically ripped off Kirk's manic overblowing style.) One of his most interesting records is this gem from 1965, which is probably overlooked because it strays so far from the norms of jazz LP's of that era. Rol plays Lennon-McCartney and Bacharach-David tunes, in a pseudo-latin, sorta-exotica style that makes for a unique pop / soul sort of album, but with avant garde modern jazz overtones! (And yes, this week's CAOTW is pretty much an afterthought -- most of the great albums being played on this week's Beatles-themed special have already been Albums of the Week!)

There are a number of great clips of RRK live at Montreaux in 1972, such as "Volunteered Slavery". Here's another one where he shows of his multi-instrumental chops (playing about six things at once!): "Three For The Festival" live in 1966. Finally, "Pedal Up" features only two horns at a time and comes from 1975 (he's being introduced at the Downbeat Awards by Quincy Jones.)

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