Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Bright Moments

In the history of jazz, numerous musicians have emerged, many of whom had unusual or quirky characteristics. Among these are Django Reinhardt, who continued to play the guitar despite a left-hand disability caused by a fire, or Petrucciani, a great pianist affected by dwarfism.

An exception is Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Blinded by mistake by a nurse at birth, Kirk is one of many jazz musicians who did not achieve great fame during their lifetime but were reevaluated afterward. An incredibly eccentric personality, he was influenced throughout his life by his dreams, in which he "saw" himself playing three saxophones simultaneously or in which he was told to change his name from Ronald to Roland and call himself Rahsaan. And it is precisely because of these peculiarities that he was never highly regarded during his lifetime, seen more as a "freak show" for his way of playing than as a musician and composer.
However, Kirk had significant importance in the history of jazz and music in general: notably, he was one of the first musicians in jazz history to use the flute as a "primary" instrument and not give it a marginal role, not using it just for accompaniment. Additionally, the technique of singing into the flute is his, later adopted by Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, sparking controversy between the two.

Kirk could play numerous instruments, ranging from more "classic" ones like the saxophone, flute, harmonica, horn, trumpet, to more unusual and sophisticated ones like the manzello, the stritch (two ancestors of the saxophone), and the nose flute (a strange flute usually used in Africa and Polynesia).
He also played with various important jazz musicians, among whom I feel compelled to mention Charles Mingus (with whom he contributed to some pieces of the album Oh Yeah), Jack "Brother" McDuff (from whose collaboration came the beautiful album "Kirk's Work"), and Quincy Jones, always leaving an imprint of his atypical style in performances. An artist who died young (at only 41 years old), he left us numerous records, many of which are excellent and inimitable.

"Bright Moments" was released in '74, when Kirk was mature and already had great albums behind him (how else could one define albums like "Domino," "The Inflated Tear," or "Blacknuss"?). The tracks are taken from a concert in June '73, which is why they are often preceded by a brief spoken introduction.
The album opens with a short introductory track in which Kirk greets his audience and introduces the band members. Immediately, you recognize the musician's touch, through the use of "world sounds," a technique made famous by Pierre Schaeffer and often used by Kirk. The first piece is "Pedal Up," a long saxophone piece - with medley-like characteristics - of 11 minutes. Here we find familiar themes, the most obvious among them being "My Favorite Things" and, at the end, "Für Elise."
The third piece is a remake of a not-too-well-known jazz piece, "You'll Never Get to Heaven," dominated by a saxophone alternating moments of sadness with moments of joy. The next track is a break between one piece and another, where Kirk harshly recites "Clickety Clack", a sort of his poetry in which he criticizes society with a particular focus on the world of music. This is swiftly followed by "Prelude to a Kiss" by Duke Ellington, an artist much loved by Kirk and whose pieces he often interpreted (among others, his adaptation of "Creole Love Call" from the album "The Inflated Tear" deserves special mention). This version is almost unrecognizable compared to the original, having lost Ellingtonian grace and elegance in favor of a slower but more powerful, lively, and engaging sound.

"Fly Town Nose Blues" is a cheerful and fast-paced Kirk composition, dominated by the sound of the flute and synthesizer. Numerous times, one of Roland's various "trademarks" can be heard: singing while playing the flute, at some points achieving hilarious effects. The piece begins with the flute keeping up with the synthesizer, then transitions (after some extraordinary falsetto sung through the flute) to a piano part, finally returning to the initial theme and adding variations. The track ends with a sung part by Kirk and a brief climatic alternation between flute and piano (Ron Burton, excellent as always).
But perhaps the most significant piece of the entire album is "Bright Moments Song" - from which the album takes its name - which begins with a melancholic opening, with a slow flute. But the atmosphere soon changes when Kirk starts humming, bringing the piece to a strange melancholic joy, unexpected yet refreshing. The piece is, in my opinion, one of Kirk's best compositions, well marked by the flute and bass. The central part is also beautiful, with a piano that seems to play with the theme for a few minutes but then manages to disentangle from a dense web of notes and naturally yet unexpectedly make the flute rejoin. The piece evolves so naturally that on first listen, it flies by, leaving behind a slight melancholy.

The sweet, dreamy atmosphere of "Bright Moments" disappears to make way for the next track, another Kirk composition titled "Dem Red Beans and Rice". In this fast-paced piece, the saxophone takes the lead, bringing a warm and rhythmic atmosphere that evokes the golden days of jazz.
The last pieces of the album are "If I Loved You", an agile version of the famous "Jitterburg Waltz" by Fats Waller, and a final short piece by Kirk, "Second Line Jump", which serves as a coda to the album, leaving a bit of sadness when you realize that with this last track, the album has also ended.

In conclusion, "Bright Moments" is a beautiful album by Kirk, perhaps one of his peaks thanks to the proportion and extreme variety of the pieces; indeed, the album contains an alternation of lively and sad pieces, never heavy or out of place.

"Bright Moments is like seeing something that you ain't ever seen in your life and you don't have to see it but you know how it looks."