Rip, Rig & Panic/Now Please Don't You Cry, Beautiful Edith

Roland Kirk was a sublime one-man musical circus, whether playing three reeds at once, overblowing a flute, blasting a whistle to end a solo, or simply playing tenor saxophone with as much passion and invention as almost any other musician in jazz. This CD combines two complete Kirk LPs, Rip, Rig and Panic from 1965 and Now Please Don't You Cry, Beautiful Edith from 1967. The former is justifiably one of Kirk's most famous records, and it has possibly the most incendiary backing group he ever recorded with--secure, inventive, and prodding. Fueled by Jaki Byard's contrapuntal comping and flights into stride and atonality, Richard Davis's edge-of-the-beat bass lines, and Elvin Jones's polyrhythmic drumming, Kirk responds aggressively. His tenor improvisations on "No Tonic Pres" and "From Byas, Bechet, and Fats" are volcanic, while his manzello (a single reed in the soprano saxophone range) is piquantly lyrical on "Black Diamonds." Always an innovator, Kirk adds electronically altered sounds to "Slippery, Hippery, Flippery" and shattering glass to the brilliant title piece. The later session is relatively subdued but still distinguished, with a more conventional rhythm section in pianist Lonnie Liston Smith, bassist Ronnie Boykins, and drummer Grady Tate. "Blue Rol" has Kirk paying glorious tribute to the Ellington reed section, playing three horns at once before using circular breathing on manzello and then turning in a tenor solo worthy of an Ellingtonian like Ben Webster or Harold Ashby. "Why Don't They Know" is percolating bossa nova, while the title tune is a beautiful ballad. This is essential Kirk, and also a perfect introduction to his work. --Stuart Broomer