Rahsaan Roland Kirk

Rahsaan Roland Kirk (1936-1977) 來自美國俄懷俄州,出生后沒多久就失明,他在俄懷俄州立盲人學校就讀, 12 歲便在校園組的樂團玩薩克斯風與黑管, 15 歲擁有屬於自己的樂團,在俄懷俄州表演. 　　 　　
16 歲的某天他夢到自己可以一次玩三個樂器,隔天他跑到樂器行試遍了所有的簧管樂器,后來老板帶他到地下室,那里有一些二手的樂器,他發(fā)現(xiàn)兩支西班牙軍樂隊使用過的薩克斯風,一支叫做 stritch,是中音薩克斯風的一種,另一支叫 manzello,外型有點像中音薩克斯風,但聽起來像高音 (薩克斯風). 　　 　　
Kirk 把它們買下來,再加上一支高音薩克斯風練習,同時吹奏三項樂器,有時稍微不協(xié)調(diào),結(jié)果就變得很刺耳,這種吹奏方式十分具有特色,也讓 Roland Kirk 的音樂豐富化了,有時他也會使用霧號,口笛等樂器,讓表演更具戲劇張力. 　　 　　
1956 年 Kirk 制作首張專輯,卻沒被大眾注意, 1960 年透過 Ramsey Lewis 幫忙, Kirk 在廠牌 Cadet 旗下錄音,馬上引起爭論,大家都覺得他在耍噱頭, Kirk 為自己辯解,說他演奏的每個聲音都其來有自,當他在演奏時,腦子會出現(xiàn)霧號與其他聲音,他知道自己在做什麼. 　　 　　
事實上, Kirk 對傳統(tǒng)爵士樂了解甚透,也知道早期的音樂,例如 Jelly Roll Morton (與 Fats Waller),他們將汽笛,哨子,人聲與汽車喇叭等聲音加入作品中,成為相當特殊的音效.對 Kirk 來說,爵士音樂就是 black classical music,他承繼了 black classical music 狂野,不屈服的精神,從這角度而言,他就是 pure - Kirk 的作品中幾乎看不到任何早期歐洲音樂的影子.
1961 年 Kirk 與 Charles Mingus 工作了 4 個月,且出現(xiàn)在 Mingus 的專輯 Oh Yeah 里,與他一同到加州巡回的結(jié)果,是名聲逐漸在國際樂壇間傳開,與 Mingus 的工作合約到期后,便開始踏入歐洲,在西德的 Essen jazz festival 活動里獨奏, 1963 年起 Kirk 便固定與他的四重奏出國表演,第一個固定表演的場所是 Ronnie Scott 的 Jazz Club, 60 年代后期到 70 年代初期, Kirk 的樂團 Vibration Society 在美國,加拿大,歐洲,澳洲,紐西蘭的各大 club,現(xiàn)場音樂會與主要的音樂節(jié)里表演. 其實光聽 Roland Kirk 一個人表演,就有四重奏的感覺了,沒有四重奏至少也有三重奏,說他是薩克斯風的超技樂手,一點也不恭維. 　　 　　
導演 Dick Fontaine 拍的一支 短片 Sound (1966-67),里面出現(xiàn)的人物包括有 Rahsaan Roland Kirk, John Cage 與 David Tudor.. 等 　　 　　
1967 年 4 月 Roland Kirk 在錄完專輯 Now Please Don't You Cry, Beautiful Edith 后便來到 Atlantic,到了 11 月 Kirk 決定帶著他的四重奏樂團 (鋼琴 Ron Burton, 貝斯手 Steve Novosel,鼓手 Jimmy Hopps) 透過藍調(diào)與 60 年代中期傳統(tǒng)式的 groove 來表達內(nèi)省的,深沉的,細長的氛圍. 　　 　　
同年 11 月 Roland Kirk 首次在 Atlantic 唱片旗下發(fā)行專輯 The Inflated Tear (后來又在相同廠牌發(fā)行另外兩張響叮當?shù)膶］?Blacknuss 與 Volunteered Slavery),這張專輯一推出時并沒被注重,連制作人 Joel Dorn 與老板 Neshui Ertegun 都對 The Inflated Tear 沒有抱持太多期待. 　　 　　
Kirk 在這張專輯一人演奏了笛,黑管,薩克斯風,哨子,還有上述過的 strich 與 Manzello 等樂器,發(fā)展出屬於自己的聲音,尤其是當這些樂器同時被吹奏的時候,馬上引來爵士樂迷的齊聲躂伐,說他耍噱頭,不過隨后這群批判者在聽完壓抑又高雅的 Black and Crazy Blues,令人眩暈的 Creole Love Call,靈魂深處的 The Inflated Tear,隨風飄逸的抒情小品 Fly by Night 后,對他的作品如癡如醉,愛恨交加.?
結(jié)果發(fā)行后第一年 The Inflated Tear 就賣了超過 1 萬張,這個數(shù)字超乎 Kirk 想像,也是他始料未及的 夢,他對爵士的涉獵與專業(yè)在這張專輯中表露無遺,對於想了解他的樂友來說, The Inflated Tear 是一張指標性的入門專輯.?
Volunteered Slavery 專輯於 1968 年到 1969 年 間錄制,音樂風格偏向非洲詩歌與后咆勃,藍調(diào),參與錄制的樂手分別是小號手 Charles McGhee,伸縮小號手 Dick Griffin,風琴手 Mickey Tucker,貝斯手 Vernon Martin,鼓手s Jimmy Hopps, Charles Grady 和 Sony Brown.?
Volunteered Slavery 光以字面來看恐讓人朝性變態(tài)的方向產(chǎn)生荒謬聯(lián)想,原因就出在於 Slavery 這個字上,不過這里所指的奴隸,指的是非洲裔美國公民長久被歧視而遭受到不公平的待遇.這張專輯的命名,只是 Roland Kirk 的機伶和小小的惡作劇罷了.?
從他在歌曲中夸飾說著: If you wanna know how it is to be free/ You got to spend all day in bed with me 就可欣賞他的幽默方式. 　　 　　
Kirk 不只一次透過這種詼諧嘲諷的方式傳達心中對於黑人人權(quán)觀感的憤怒,如果你還聽過他的其他歌曲如 Inflated Tear 或 Black Mystery Has Been Revealed. 　　 　　
暗潮洶涌的旋律首先透過簡短的薩克斯風聲音,接著聽到 Kirk 重復吟唱著: Oh, volunteered slavery has got me on the run / Oh, volunteered slavery has got me havin' fun,讓人回想起黑人音樂一應一答的獨特合唱方式, Sun Ra 的專輯 Space Is The Place 和 Outer Spaceways Incorporated 也有相同特色.?
當 Kirk 用次中音薩克斯風二重奏時,其他團員想辦法讓整個 groove 獲得延伸,然后逐漸點燃情緒,巧妙地增加聆聽者的感受力, Kirk 狡猾地在歌曲某段落引用 Hey Jude 的和弦并不令人意外,他總是大方的公開贊揚 Beatles 和 the Animals 的音樂對現(xiàn)代音樂有廣大的影響力. 　　 　　
Spirits Up Above 以藍調(diào)方式激烈喊唱,非常具有靈魂味道, Kirk 演奏 Burt Bacharach 與 Hal David 制作的經(jīng)典歌曲 I Say a Little Prayer,及向 John Coltrane 致敬的歌曲 Afro Blue, Lush Life, Bessie's Blues,雖然朗朗上口的旋律就可達到百萬銷售成績,同時還扣人心弦,不過透過他的演奏,可能就需要愿意接受新事物的聽眾,才能了解其詮釋方式, Kirk 將黑人音樂演奏出獨一無二的版本,將這些歌曲推向更崇高的境界,這是需要對音樂歷史透徹知悉,同時還要兼?zhèn)湟魳匪仞B(yǎng)與演奏技巧的大師,才有辦法完成任務(wù). 　　 　　
1975 年, Rahsaan Roland Kirk 因中風關(guān)系導致半身麻痹,依靠驚人的意志力,他使用單手吹奏 - 帶著這個屬於薩克斯風手的夢靨 + 天敵般的疾病出國巡回,到音樂節(jié)里演出,還出現(xiàn)在電視節(jié)目上, 1977 年因為二度中風, Rahsaan Roland Kirk 不幸辭世,享年 41 歲.?
Kirk 不僅受到大眾喜愛,連音樂家也對他欣賞不已.他并沒有閉門造車,完全讓自己投入於整個爵士樂史,從早期的紐澳良,透過 swing 與 bebop,經(jīng)歷 60 年代的抽象爵士,與 70 年代的 avant-garde.整個音樂生涯中 Kirk 錄制了許多向自幾己敬愛的音樂人致敬的歌曲,這些人是 Fats Waller, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Lester Young, Thelonious Monk, Sidney Bechet, Don Byas, Roy Haynes, Charles Mingus, Clifford Brown, Barney Bigard 與 John Coltrane. 　　 　　
Kirk 通曉爵士樂史,我們卻無法對他的音樂或他個人下定義,既非傳統(tǒng)樂手,亦非完全極端的前衛(wèi),即便到了 90 年代,他的音樂聽起來絲毫沒有過時的感覺,因為 Kirk 總是在平常熱衷於聆聽與學習,他的天份啟發(fā)許多年輕樂手,除了樂手身份外,他也是優(yōu)秀的制作人,最為人道的歌曲有 From Bechet, Byas and Fats, No Tonic Pres, Bright Moments, Let Me Shake Your Tree, The Inflated Tear.?
J.E. Berendt 說 Roland Kirk 身上有街頭藝人狂放粗野般的特質(zhì),同時又具有現(xiàn)代爵士樂家的纖細敏感, Michael Ullman 則說聽過他的音樂 Shine On Me 就彷佛見到上帝,病痛能不藥而愈,人死也能復生.?
Does Your House Have Lions: The Rahsaan Roland Kirk Anthology 這套 2cd 精選輯收錄 Kirk 於 1961 年至 1976 年間的作品,也幾乎是他全部音樂生涯中最精華的創(chuàng)作,共有 31 首,長達 137 分鐘,內(nèi)容包括全方位的爵士,流行 / 靈魂,福音與 hard bop.?
這張合輯對 Roland Kirk 迷來說并不討喜,辛苦收集每一張 Kirk 的專輯,結(jié)果其精華一下子都在這里出現(xiàn),再者既然稱為精選輯,歌曲編排方式?jīng)]有按照年份逐一排列,還將錄音室作品與現(xiàn)場表演的錄音穿插編排.?
這是專輯制作人 Joel Dorn 的本意,要大家拋開鎡銖計較的挑剔,全心進入 Kirk 多采多姿的音樂世界, Does Your House Have Lions 被 all music 評選為 Roland Kirk 發(fā)行所有合輯中評價最高的,對於專業(yè)的唱片收藏家來說,也許他們會把這張精選輯拿在手上,望著里面的曲目口水直流,但又因為信奉『合輯的價值不及於專輯』這樣的教規(guī),只好依依不舍的再把它擺回架上,不過對於從未接觸過 Roland Kirk 音樂的新樂友們,這下子可有福了.
by Chris Kelsey
Arguably the most exciting saxophone soloist in jazz history, Kirk was a post-modernist before that term even existed. Kirk played the continuum of jazz tradition as an instrument unto itself; he felt little compunction about mixing and matching elements from the musics history, and his concoctions usually seemed natural, if not inevitable. When discussing Kirk, a great deal of attention is always paid to his eccentricities — playing several horns at once, making his own instruments, clowning on stage. However, Kirk was an immensely creative artist; perhaps no improvising saxophonist has ever possessed a more comprehensive technique — one that covered every aspect of jazz, from Dixieland to free — and perhaps no other jazz musician has ever been more spontaneously inventive. His skills in constructing a solo are of particular note. Kirk had the ability to pace, shape, and elevate his improvisations to an extraordinary degree. During any given Kirk solo, just at the point in the course of his performance when it appeared he could not raise the intensity level any higher, he always seemed able to turn it up yet another notch.
Kirk was born with sight, but became blind at the age of two. He started playing the bugle and trumpet, then learned the clarinet and C-melody sax. Kirk began playing tenor sax professionally in R&B bands at the age of 15. While a teenager, he discovered the manzello and stritch — the former, a modified version of the saxello, which was itself a slightly curved variant of the B flat soprano sax; the latter, a modified straight E flat alto. To these and other instruments, Kirk began making his own improvements. He reshaped all three of his saxes so that they could be played simultaneously; hed play tenor with his left hand, finger the manzello with his right, and sound a drone on the stritch, for instance. Kirks self-invented technique was in evidence from his first recording, a 1956 R&B record called Triple Threat. By 1960 he had begun to incorporate a siren whistle into his solos, and by 63 he had mastered circular breathing, a technique that enabled him to play without pause for breath.
In his early 20s, Kirk worked in Louisville before moving to Chicago in 1960. That year he made his second album, Introducing Roland Kirk, which featured saxophonist/trumpeter Ira Sullivan. In 1961, Kirk toured Germany and spent three months with Charles Mingus. From that point onward, Kirk mostly led his own group, the Vibration Society, recording prolifically with a range of sidemen. In the early 70s, Kirk became something of an activist; he led the Jazz and Peoples Movement, a group devoted to opening up new opportunities for jazz musicians. The group adopted the tactic of interrupting tapings and broadcasts of television and radio programs in protest of the small number of African-American musicians employed by the networks and recording studios. In the course of his career, Kirk brought many hitherto unused instruments to jazz. In addition to the saxes, Kirk played the nose whistle, the piccolo, and the harmonica; instruments of his own design included the trumpophone (a trumpet with a soprano sax mouthpiece), and the slidesophone (a small trombone or slide trumpet, also with a sax mouthpiece). Kirk suffered a paralyzing stroke in 1975, losing movement on one side of his body, but his homemade saxophone technique allowed him to continue to play; beginning in 1976 and lasting until his death a year later, Kirk played one-handed.