Domino [Original recording remastered]

Domino [Original recording remastered]

ASIN: B000050J60

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Domino comes from early in saxophonist Roland Kirk's career, recorded in 1962 when he was just beginning to gain notoriety for his ability to play three saxophones at once: the manzello (a near-soprano), stritch (a straightened alto), and an orthodox tenor. What was overlooked initially, but is already apparent here, is that Kirk was an astonishingly creative player. Whatever the instrument he's soloing on here, Kirk has his own sound and his own soulful intensity. He had clearly mastered the hard bop and modal vocabularies, and he kept stretching to include elements of the avant-garde, funk, and early jazz. His compositions are well thought-out, with evidence of his recent Mingus stint, and the influences of Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, and John Coltrane had already coalesced into a distinctive style.

Kirk was also an effective orchestrator, switching horns for intros and bridges or punctuating tunes with his own saxophone section. On "I Believe in You" he alternates muffled tenor with perky manzello, then throws in a sudden unison on both horns. His music simultaneously insists on both his roots and his reach, from blues and ballads to barnyard noises and circular breathing. This Domino actually comes from three sessions, and the arrangement of the material should satisfy listeners who prefer the form of original LPs and those who enjoy alternate takes and the blow-by-blow studio experience.

The original LP, the first 10 tracks, comes from two sessions. The first six tracks are by Kirk's working band with Andrew Hill on piano, an ideal partner with a percussive, unpredictably angular style that provides Kirk added stimulus. The other "original" four tracks were recorded six months earlier by a studio group with Wynton Kelly on piano and Roy Haynes on drums. There are apparently no alternates extant for these sessions. The rest of the CD--seven tunes over some 15 tracks--was recorded the day before the Kelly session, with pianist Herbie Hancock joining Haynes and bassist Vernon Martin.

Some of this material has found its way onto various Kirk issues over the years, but there are alternate takes and breakdowns that haven't previously appeared, even on The Complete Mercury Recordings. The two versions of the pretty "Domino" are by different bands, while "Meeting on Termini's Corner" with Hill is a completely different tune than the earlier "Termini's Corner" with Hancock, the former avant-garde in its fractured, refracting lines, the latter call-and-response funk. --Stuart Broomer

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