Roland Kirk was a musical phenomena and someone that we may never see the like of again. Mr. Kirk who later adopted the name "Rahsaan" Roland Kirk discovered his talents in his dreams. He lost his sight at a very early age but fell in love with the sound of music. He taught himself to play three horns at once making him a one-man band and later added the clarinet, flute, and trumpet plus other sound producing devices to his arsenal. He was a bizarre sight and initially to fans and especially to critics who thought he was merely an eccentric gimmick but Mr. Kirk proved them wrong. His music has depth, soul, swing and passion and tonight's Jazz Feature was the first recording to give him international prominence. It was issued and widely distributed on Mercury Records and signaled to the world that Kirk had arrived. The album is called "We Free Kings" and features Kirk on all his horns in the company of two stellar rhythm sections. He delivers some standards that are not overdone and mostly his own compositions. His accompanists are Richard Wyands and Hank Jones on piano, Wendell Marshall and Art Davis on bass and Charlie Persip on drums with both rhythm sections."We Free Kings" is one of Roland Kirk's early masterpieces...check it out right here.

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