RRK

Lee Santa Photo, 1969

Rahsaan Roland Kirk

Gilded Cage, Sacramento, CA, October 3, 1969 (during the Gold Rush Rock Festival in Amador County, CA)

Rahsaan Roland Kirk, or RRK as he was known to his fans, was blind and one of the most vital and innovative musicians this planet has ever produced.  Over the course of his career, 1955 to his death in 1977, he was known for playing three saxophones simultaneously and often played a flute and a recorder (which he called a nose flute) simultaneously as well.  His ability to do circular breathing, where he could play continuously without pausing to take a breath, at times for several minutes, became legendary. 

In this lightly attended show at the Gilded Cage, Rahsaan was accompanied by pianist Ron Burton, bassist Vernon Martin,  drummer Steve Ellington, and percussionist Joe “Habao” Texador.

Unfortunately RRK had been booked during the conflicting Gold Rush Rock Festival in Amador County, resulting in a  poor turnout.  At the conclusion of the evening's session I went over to talk to the bass player, Vernon Martin.  Almost immediately he asked me if I could get him some herb.  I optimistically said I could and he told me where they were staying (the Sacramento Inn just off Arden Way in North Sacramento) and their room number.

It turned out I was unable to find the weed for Vernon that evening, but my time mingling with the band wasn't over.

The next morning after waking and reflecting on the previous evening and the poor turnout, I got the idea to take Rahsaan to KZAP radio station for an interview.  A free form station, KZAP was located on the top floor of the Elks building in downtown Sacramento.  It was not uncommon for one to hear the station mix a classical piece followed by a psychedelic rock track followed by a jazz or blues tune.

I called the station and presented the idea to the programmer. I then called RRK's room and when someone answered the phone, I asked if I was speaking to “Roland Kirk?"  He corrected me, saying "it is Rahsaan Roland Kirk".  I then presented the KZAP interview idea to him.  He was hesitant at first, saying that it was Saturday and his day off.   After some prodding and cajoling by me, a stranger, he agreed to the interview. I called the station again and set up a time for the interview for that afternoon.

I drove to the Sacramento Inn to pick up Rahsaan and was invited into his room.  Joe Texador and Vernon Martin were there and Rahsaan was listening to the Raiders/Dolphins football game on TV. After our introductions and some small talk, I recall Rahsaan commenting that when he came back in a second life he wanted to come back as a football player, and we all had a good laugh.

We (RRK, Joe Texador and I) arrived at the station sometime in the early afternoon and it wasn’t long before the DJ put Rahsaan on the air.  Rahsaan presented his yet-to-be released album Volunteered Slavery during the interview and the DJ played three or four selections, asking questions of Rahsaan between cuts.  The entire segment must have lasted about 30 minutes.

When we returned to the Sacramento Inn, Rahsaan invited me into his room once more because he wanted to give me a copy of his album, Here Comes the Whistleman.  I ask him to autograph it for me.  Joe Texador did the writing while Rahsaan held the pencil’s eraser and whispered what he wanted to say into Joe's ear:  "To Lee, may we see fit to vibrate on every level, Rahsaan Roland Kirk."

Rahsaan Roland Kirk

Both/And Club, on Divisadero Street near Oak Street, San Francisco, Oct., 1969

The group’s personnel were the same as at the Gilded Gage on October 3rd.

During this concert, RRK played three saxophones simultaneously, popped a clarinet in the corner of his mouth and played that as well.  It was a mind-boggling display of virtuosity and technique, made all the more remarkable by the clarity and separation of his sound—a wonderful collage of four instruments that had I not seen it I would have believed produced by a quartet.

A few days prior to this session, I had gone before the Student Council at Sacramento City College, where I was a student, and suggested bringing RRK to the school.  The Student Council agreed to invite Kirk to campus and drew up a contract that I brought with me to the Both/And Club.

Rahsaan Roland Kirk

Sacramento City College, November 4, 1969

Once again the personnel were the same as the Oct. 3 Gilded Gage concert.

Despite his blindness, Rahsaan had an uncanny ability to look within a person.  Every time I would meet up with him and we shook hands, Rahsaan would hold on to my hand for a few seconds and rub my palm with his thumb.  It was somewhat unsettling as I felt totally exposed when he did that.  It was as though Rahsaan was looking right into my inner self.

A couple of hours prior to the concert I drove Vernon Martin to a friend's house to get some smoke.  My friend's name was Lucky and the neighborhood he lived in was in a rough area, where break-ins were not uncommon.   When we got there one of Lucky's roommates said he was taking a bath.  Showing his audacious sense of humor, Vernon charged into the bathroom. "Where’s Lucky? Where’s Lucky?" he demanded to know.  Now, Vernon was a big dude, and when he charged into the bathroom the expression on Lucky's face was priceless.  Vernon had scared the shit out of Lucky, who must have thought he was being robbed at that very moment.  Then he saw me and he realized he was being had.  Still, he did not know Vernon from Adam and could not have been more surprised and flustered when Vernon subsequently snatched him from the tub and gave him a big old hug.  I’ve never forgotten that image, the sight of a big black man the size of an NFL lineman hugging poor, naked, soaking-wet Lucky.  And there wasn’t a damn thing Lucky could do to get out of it.

Well, we got what Vernon wanted and headed back to SCC.

Back at the Performing Arts Center it was getting close to start time for the concert and Rahsaan was nowhere to be found.  That made me nervous, and I asked Steve Ellington where he was.  Steve informed me Rahsaan had gone to the Audio/Visual department.  I asked why and he said Rahsaan was trying to learn where his name came from.

Sometime before that night I had told Rahsaan about Sun Ra speaking in one of my classes.  I’d explained that at one point during his lecture Sun Ra had talked about the origins of his name.  I’d mentioned that a tape of the lecture was held in the school’s Audio/Visual department.  I had not made the connection until then that Rah-saan and Sun Ra had the same syllables, only in reverse order.  After the concert Rahsaan asked me to see if I could get a copy of the tape and send it to his home in New Jersey, which I did.

The concert turned out fantastic and the audience really got into it.  At one point near the end of the concert, Rahsaan started talking about giving flowers to the living and giving credit to people before they die.  I could tell by the way his talk was unfolding that he was talking about me.  I was standing at stage left, where I’d been photographing the show, and next to me stood my friend, Lynette.  I had the sense that Rahsaan was about to call me up to the stage to thank me for organizing the gig.  When he indeed called me up I handed my camera to Lynette and jumped onto the stage.  Vernon gave me a big bear hug like the one I’d seen him give Lucky earlier in the day, and Rahsaan asked the crowd to give me a round of applause.  It was of course an unforgettable experience.  

After the concert the band and I went to Sam's Hofbrau on L Street in downtown Sacramento.  Sam’s was a cafeteria style restaurant where you had to stand in a line to get your food.  After finishing our food Rahsaan asked me to show him to the bathroom.  Once inside he had me stand him in front of the urinal. Thus I learned how a blind person orients himself to a urinal, using the back of the hand to feel out the terrain.

After leaving Sam's Hofbrau we walked up L Street to my car.  Rahsaan pulled an object from his coat pocket.  It turned out to be a little electronic laugh box.  He pushed the button on its side and we all laughed along with the box.  The night had been a rousing success.  It had filled Rahsaan and his sidemen with tremendous joy.

A joy I felt as well.

Lee Santa, from A Journey into Jazz.

TS