Roland Kirk
I Talk With The Spirits

I Talk With the Spirits: there couldn't have been a better name to dive into the colorful, visionary, dreamy, hypnotic world of Roland Kirk, a man of countless talented nuances, largely unknown to the masses, shrouded in a thick veil of mystery and unfortunately little notoriety. Yet, in his lifetime, the virtuosic flutist and jazz musician of color was appreciated in important jazz circles and is now valued as one of the milestones among jazz flutists, mostly reassessed only after his passing.

In this album, where Kirk predominantly plays the flute at the expense of the sax, an ethereal, dreamy atmosphere is breathed, but also rich in interesting tones and sound experiments. The importance of this album (dated 1964) is certainly more perceptible and directed towards Jethro Tull fans, as the influence it had on them was nothing short of enormous. " Thanks to 'I Talk With The Spirits' by Roland Kirk, I started playing the flute," said Ian Anderson, the guru of all modern flutists. And listening to this album indeed gives no surprise that he would say that: Anderson has in many cases deliberately copied flute techniques (the voice in the flute, the exaggerated amount of breath blown into the instrument, the aggressive way of playing, the particular way of creating melodies by tapping the keys without blowing, for example) and also the style of the very first Jethro Tull (at the time when they were still called The Blades, then The John Evan Band, then The John Evan Smash and thus Candy Coloured Rain) are always inspired by him, the great Roland Kirk.

The album opens accordingly with Serenade To A Cuckoo, which later became truly famous thanks to the album This Was, where Ian Anderson covers this piece with Jethro Tull. Essentially a good piece of jazz flute, with a magnificent piano interlude, and of great historical importance. The transverse flute's melodic line that holds the piece together is very original because it truly resembles the song of the cuckoo. Following is the sweet medley We'll Be Together Again/People, the first a cover of a song written by Carl Fisher along with the famous Italian-American singer Frankie Laine, the second a cover of a song written by composers Bob Merrill and Jule Styne. Good jazz with varied rhythms in A Quote From Clifford Brown, which clearly refers to the artist in the song's title. Here and there, a stroke of genius, such as the piece Trees, a quiet walk among the trees of Ohio. Fugue'n Alludin' introduces The Business Ain't Nothin' But The Blues, then moves to the title track and Ruined Castles, and finally to Django, three incredibly calm pieces of truly refined and delicate atmosphere. My Ship is another cover, taken from Lady In The Dark by Ira Gershwin and Kurt Weill.

In 1977, Roland Kirk died of a stroke at just 41. He passed almost quietly. His legacy in musical terms would be enormous: more than anyone, Anderson certainly, but undoubtedly other flutists like Thijs van Leer (Focus) and Jeremy Steig were also greatly influenced later; there would be saxophonists like Dave Heckstall-Smith (Colosseum), David Jackson (Van der Graaf Generator), Jeff Coffin (Bela Fleck and the Flecktones), Dana Colley (Morphine), Davey Payne (Ian Dury And The Blockheads), and Courtney Pine who would play multiple saxophones simultaneously, just like Roland Kirk did; not to mention the various jazz musicians who still fondly remember the good old Roland. An innovator Kirk was, but always in his own way, with that particular veiled aura of his, in a magical world made of castles in the air and dreams of spirits, as this excellent album shows.