Rahsaan Roland Kirk, “Pedal Up.” Introduction by Quincy Jones at the 1975 Down Beat Poll Winners’ Show.
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Rahsaan Roland Kirk - horns
McCoy Tyner - piano
Stanley Clarke - bass
Lenny White - drums
This is not a novelty act, ladies and gentlemen. An enourmous influence on my thinking circa 1984-87, We Free Kings (Mercury 1961) rarely left my turntable.
His unorthodox musical settings and approach to his many instruments, played simultaneously, can change your life. The solo section in “Pedal Up” that begins here at 4:55 boggles the ears and mind. “Pedal Up” first appeared in 1972 on his live Montreux Jazz Festival recording, I, Eye, Aye. As with We Free Kings, Kirk’s titles alone were excercises in play: he played with languages of all types, written, spoken and musical alike. Head to allmusic for Kirk’s biography.
