Left Hook, Right Cross

Amazon.com
One of America's more overlooked saxophonists, the late Rahsaan Roland Kirk was distinctive for a number of reasons. He was a blind man who was able to play three reed instruments simultaneously, and his art encompassed traditional jazz, gospel, the avant-garde, ethnic music, and even pop music. Left Hook, Right Cross is a two-CD reissue of his more commercial efforts from 1969 and 1972, Volunteered Slavery and Blacknuss. On Volunteered Slavery Kirk juxtaposes an instrumental version of Stevie Wonder's "My Cherie Amour" with an in-concert tribute to John Coltrane that included interpretations of "Lush Life" and "Bessie's Blues." While Blacknuss is slightly more sterile, Kirk's versions of "Ain't No Sunshine" and "What's Going On/Mercy Mercy Me" display an artist's inner vision that was both compelling and contemporary. --Mitch Meyers

Left Hook, Right Cross,Rahsaan Roland Kirk,32. Jazz Records,Hard Bop,Jazz,Jazz Music,Pop,Post-Bop

Jazz Music: