Are Black People from Outer Space? Black History Month pt. 2

Continuing with the celebration of Black History month and musical cosmonauts we come to Rahsaan Roland Kirk. While he might not be as outlandish (in appearance) as George Clinton or Sun Ra, his famous talent for playing multiple horns at once (and well, at that) suggests that he could have been from another planet, a more musical galaxy. I had heard a bunch of Kirk's stuff before that I enjoyed (particularly his playing with Jaki Byard), but once I listened to the live album Compliments of the Mysterious Phantom, I finally began to see what it was all about. I'm just sorry I didn't get to see him. There is a bunch of "Rahspeak" on the album, but unlike most skits that litter hip hop albums, his speech is pretty funny, sometimes sharp and sometimes seemingly random. Listen for the judgements of the lips and the power of the nose in the Rahspeaks below. The image here, painted by Nancy Ostrovsky (live) is worthily far out. B.L.A.C.K.N.U.S.S. Ya dig...Feel free to sing along!

Rahsaan Roland Kirk Live-Blacknuss mp3

Rahspeak 1
Rahspeak 2