Roland Kirk

The Profile

American jazz multi-instrumentalist (tenor sax, stritch, manzello, flute) famed for playing multiple horns at once, circular breathing, and a fiercely original style. Born August 7, 1935 in Columbus, Ohio; blind from age two; added “Rahsaan” to his name in the early 1970s. Active from the 1950s until his death in 1977.

Blind from age two due to a medical accident; born in Columbus, Ohio (1935) and died in 1977 after a performance in Bloomington, Indiana; pioneered simultaneous multi-horn playing and circular breathing; composed “Serenade to a Cuckoo”; heavily influenced Ian Anderson; prominent activist with the Jazz and People's Movement; continued performing after a 1975 stroke by modifying his instruments.

Two DeBaser reviews spotlight Roland (Rahsaan) Kirk’s dream-charged, boundary-busting jazz. I Talk With The Spirits centers on flute innovations and its impact on Ian Anderson. Rip, Rig & Panic is framed as a nocturnal, visionary manifesto with elastic tradition and theater. Reviews underline his multi-instrumental technique, circular breathing, and activism. Public facts confirm his American roots, blindness from age two, name change to Rahsaan, and 1950s–1977 career.