Roland Kirk, "Serenade for a Cuckoo"

KOSMO's VINYL of the Week:
This week we are in Nola's Penthouse Studios, 111 West 57th St. NYC, on September 16th or 17th, 1964 for Roland Kirk's "Serenade For A Cuckoo", first released on his "I Talk With The Spirits" LP on Limelight in 1965...

"It was Ian Dury that introduced me to Rahsaan Roland Kirk (Rahsaan was added to his name in 1970). A huge fan, Ian even wrote a song in tribute, "OK Roland", with Kilburn & The High Roads.

Kirk was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1935 and became blind at the age of 2. By age 14, he was playing sax in R'n'B bands. To quote Hank Crawford, "He was an original from the beginning.". A multi-instrumentalist, Kirk could play tenor sax, nose flute and regular flute all at the same time and was known for his off the wall presentation and his spiritual and political remarks. He was also a lot of fun - he left this dimension in 1977 and if there is any sort of afterlife, he's sure to be part of it !" - KV