The Steve Turre Sextet will be celebrating Rahsaan Roland Kirk with performances of Mr. Kirk’s music. Mr. Turre’s band for this project is comprised of Steve Turre – trombone and shells, James Carter – tenor saxophone and clarinet, Vincent Herring – alto and soprano saxophones, Dion Parson – drums, Xavier Davis or George Cables – piano; Buster Williams or Gerald Cannon – Bass.
You have to have a lot of nerve to cover Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s music. Soul-drenched, steeped in the blues yet progressive in ways that were not to be fully appreciated until after his untimely death in ’77, Kirk’s music managed to be a bundle of contradictions while, at the same time, a cohesive statement about the true jazz experience. And while more space was often devoted to his eccentricities—playing multiple horns at once, dressing flamboyantly, as much a visual performer as a player—the reality is that Kirk, whose capabilities ranged from Dixieland to free jazz and everything in between, was arguably one of the most creative musicians of his time.
Trombonist Steve Turre not only met Kirk as a teenager, but ended up on the stage with him any time Kirk was in the Bay Area where Turre was growing up, and later again when Turre had relocated to New York. And so it is that Turre is in a unique position to celebrate the music and performances of Kirk, and deliver The Spirits Up Above tour, an honest and heartfelt homage.
