MUSIC MONDAY: Rahsaan Roland Kirk

I love an original.

Here are just 3 of the reasons why I love American jazz multi-instrumentalist RAHSAAN ROLAND KIRK:

  1. He played tenor sax, flute & instruments of his own invention - ALL AT ONCE.
  2. He renamed himself Rahsaan after hearing the name in a dream.
  3. He was born with sight, but went blind at age two as a result of poor medical treatment.  Despite this hardship, he became an inventive, open-minded, uniquely creative artist with a positive spirit.

"The Inflated Tear" was the first RRK song I ever heard and it blew me away. It made such a huge impression on me that I can still picture exactly where I was when I first heard it.

Here he is performing it live in Prague in 1967.