Roland Kirk – “Fly By Night” from the album “The Inflated Tear”

Born Ronald Theodore Kirk on 7 August 1935 in Columbus, Ohio he became blind shortly after his birth. On the back of a dream he transposed two letters in his name to make it Roland. He was playing saxophone and clarinet with the school band aged 12 and by the time he was 15 he was leading his own group performing in the Ohio area.

In another dream when he was 16 he was playing three horns at once. On a visit to the local music store he discovered two obscure member of the saxophone family – a manzello and a stritch – and after some experimentation was able to play them at the same time as his tenor sax. After hearing it in a dream in 1970 he added “Rahsaan” to his name.

He died from a stroke on 5 December 1977 aged just 42.

The Inflated Tear

1) The Black and Crazy Blues; 2) A Laugh for Rory; 3) Many Blessings; 4) Fingers in the Wind; 5) The Inflated Tear; 6) The Creole Love Call; 7) A Handful of Fives; 8) Fly By Night; 9) Lovellevelliloqui

Personnel
Roland Kirk – tenor saxophone, manzello, stritch, clarinet, flute, whistle, cor anglais, flexafone
Ron Burton – piano
Steve Novosel – bass
Jimmy Hopps – drums
Dick Griffith – trombone