Roland Kirk The Inflated Tear 180g LP

Roland Kirk was an extremely talented multi-instrumentalist, who lost his sight at a very early age, and played unconventional jazz, which was not entirely free but in which melodic and very beautiful phases alternated with moments of complete dissonance and conjured up his urban background, especially reflecting his view of the world as a handicapped man. Kirk was not only famous for his unique sound achieved through his playing several instruments simultaneously and his innovative approach to music but also for his dynamic live performances. In November 1967 Kirk left EmArcy for Atlantic Records, leading his quartet through a highly introspective, somewhat melancholy programme, which was based in the blues and groove traditions of the mid-'60s. Kirk himself played flutes, the stritch, manzello and tenor saxophones, the whistle, clarinet and more – precisely those instruments that had created his unique sound, particularly when some of these instruments were played simultaneously by him. Jazz critics who had previously criticised Kirk's sound now praised him once they had heard the restrained and elegantly layered "Black and Crazy Blues," the breathtakingly executed "Creole Love Call," the razor-sharp soul in "The Inflated Tear" and the gyrating lyricism of the winds in "Fly by Night" – and quite rightly so. Roland Kirk convinced his listenership anyway and sold over 10,000 copies of the present LP in the very first year of its release. This is Roland Kirk in his most competent and visionary form; his reading of jazz harmony and capricious sonances is virtually incomparable.

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head.

Recording: November 1967 in Webster Hall, New York City, by Paul Goodman

Production: Joel Dorn