Bright Moments: The Life and Legacy of Rahsaan Roland Kirk [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

John Kruth (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2000

Rahssan Roland Kirk was one of the most unique and colorful creators in music. Such imagination. Such a creative individual. He was awesome, at the top of my list. Quincy Jones

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Kruth, a musician and journalist, has written the first full-length biography of multi-instrumental jazz icon Kirk (1936-77). Using dozens of interviews and a just-unearthed audio autobiography narrated by Kirk, Kruth traces Kirk's life from his childhood in Columbus, OH, to his mid-career vocal black-power stance, to his debilitating stroke and premature death in the mid-1970s. Throughout, Kruth highlights Kirk's pioneering efforts--such as his reintroduction of the stritch and manzello saxophones and his innovative circular breathing that enabled him to play several instruments simultaneously. Though he sometimes overstates Kirk's admittedly prodigious talents, Kruth offers a revealing biography that captures a complex jazz artist. He portrays Kirk as an original steeped in tradition, open to all types of sound but critical of rock'n'roll, a jolly prankster who humiliated his audiences, and a serious jazz player who destroyed chairs as part of his stage act. This engaging biography about an often-neglected talent will be welcomed by general readers as well as jazz scholars.
-David P. Szatmary, Univ. of Washington, Seattle
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Kruth brings a musician's appreciation to Kirk's genius, rendering life to a biography of a man who was larger than life. For insight into a man whose talent was often underappreciated because of the excesses of his stage performances, Kruth interviewed Kirk's contemporaries--Quincy Jones, Yusef Lateef, Sonny Rollins. Kirk, blind since childhood, brought a particular sensitivity to what he preferred to call black classical music rather than jazz. His competitive instincts, coupled with a voracious appetite for food and other excesses of the time, rendered Kirk a big, blind black man, unapologetic and outspoken. Kirk recognized and resented the disparate treatment between the creators of the music and the popular imitators who benefited from the art form. Kruth commands the uninitiated reader to explore Kirk's muse, and those more familiar with the man to revisit Kirk's adventures through sound. Freed by his death from the distractions of his persona and stage performances, Kirk's bright moments--the music he played without bounds or limitations--shine through. Vernon Ford

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 404 pages
• Publisher: Welcome Rain Publishers; 1 edition (2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566491053
• ISBN-13: 978-1566491051
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,142,978 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Overblown" Expectations, March 20, 2000

By 

D. A Reichley "Daveming" (Jamaica, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bright Moments: The Life and Legacy of Rahsaan Roland Kirk (Hardcover)

I applaud and thank Mr. Kruth for being the one to finally get down to business and try and write a book on this great man. However, what I feel to be a fairly disorganized book, with amateurish writing, predominantly conveyed though a "fan's" voice (with Rahsaan as musical "hero") ultimately does not measure up to the enormous contribution Rahsaan Roland Kirk made both as a musician and as a human spirit walking this earth, spreading the gospel of truth and love. I wouldn't want to dissuade anyone from reading this book - for those who don't know anything about Rahsaan or his music, this may very well be their introduction. But some of us needed a book that would try to go deeper. It's great to hear Sonny Rollins, a peer of Rahsaan's and a musical giant as well, give the man his "props", but Mr. Kruth seemingly chose to include the comments of any and everybody who had even the slightest bit of contact with the man. Indeed, the expressions of astonishment over Rahsaan's virtuosity (as well as his sometimes outrageousness) became redundant and rather tedious to read after awhile. What I hoped for from this book was a crucial (and critical) biography which would tell the STORY of this strange and wonderful character, and one which would "fill in the holes". What I read was (mostly) a well-intentioned but fairly messy book of tributes, which therefore fell short of the mark for me. However, if it will get more people listening to Rahsaan, more power to it. It sure made me pull my Rahsaan records off the shelf!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not very enlightening...sadly, January 6, 2001

By 

TheBandit (SEA-TAC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Bright Moments: The Life and Legacy of Rahsaan Roland Kirk (Hardcover)

Sorry to say, this biography is not very well written. I love Rahsaan's music and I was excited to learn more about his life as well as his art. I didn't really get much information from this book. Somebody noted that it seems like a three hundred page magazine article, and that about nails it. Yes, also as noted- there are endless (and VERY repetitious) quotes from just about everyone the author could interview.

There is no real structure or organization to this book. And it is kind of a 'puff-piece', offering no critique or analysis of Kirk's work. There is no examination of his method of working. If you're a fan, it's the only real option since there are no other books about this great musician.

For the price of this book you can buy a couple Kirk cds. Do that and find this book at the library.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS BOOK CAPTURES KIRK'S SPIRIT!, February 12, 2000

By 

Steve Robinson "Radioman" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bright Moments: The Life and Legacy of Rahsaan Roland Kirk (Hardcover)

Bright Moments is opening this book and discovering that the author has captured the spirit and essence of this great musician. As someone who had the great honor of knowing him, I can assure you that Mr. Kruth has painted a strong, vivid and honest portrait of Rahsaan. It moved me to tears.