Rahsaan Roland Kirk – Prepare Thyself to Deal with a Miracle (Atlantic, 1973)

Roland Kirk (ts, as, cl, fl, nose fl, black mystery pipes); Charles McGhee (tr); Dick Griffin (tb); Harry Smiles (ob); Ron Burton (p); Henry Mattathias Pearson (b); Robert Shy (d); Sonny Brown (perc); Ralph MacDonald (perc); Dee Dee Bridgewater (vo); Jeanne Lee (vo); Sanford Allen (vn); Julien Barber (vn); Selwart Clarke (vn); Gayle Dixon (vn); Al Brown (va); Kermit Moore (vc)

Recorded on January 22, 1973

Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I think Kirk's music from the 1970s takes a clear step forward from his work in the preceding decade.  It's as if Kirk's canvas kept expanding.  By 1970, he conceived his music as something massive and uncontainable and cosmic.  (Perhaps it's no coincidence that Kirk even changed his name in 1970.  He added Rahsaan to his name, after hearing it in a dream.)  Kirk's music would remain rooted in jazz -- and black music in general -- but during this time, it began to soar past the boundaries of those conventions.  (And that's saying something -- because Kirk was NEVER conventional.)  In the words of Duke Ellington, Kirk's music evolved into something "beyond category."

I don't think Kirk ever realized the grand, symphonic, and cosmic aspects of his music better than he did on Prepare Thyself to Deal with a Miracle.  It's a magnificent realization of his truly singular vision.

More Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Among his 1970s studio albums, I gravitate most toward:
- Natural Black Inventions: Root Strata (Atlantic, 1971)
- The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color (Atlantic, 1975)
- The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man (Warner Brothers, 1976)

As far as live recordings go, Bright Moments (Atlantic, 1973) is probably Kirk's most famous. But I actually prefer three others more.  I, Eye, Aye: Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 1972 (Rhino) captures Kirk at his kaleidoscopic best.  Brotherman in the Fatherland: Recorded "Live" in Germany 1972 (Hyena) is the most impressive display of Kirk's saxophone prowess that I've heard.  If you want to hear Kirk playing with Coltrane-like fire and intensity, start with that one.  Rahsaan, Rahsaan (Atlantic), recorded at the Village Vanguard in May 1970, is also superb.