Customer Reviews

Bright Moments: The Life and Legacy of Rahsaan Roland Kirk

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

It is truly sad that this is the only Rahshaan Roland Kirk bio. It really has very little biographical information beyond the day he was born and the day he died. There is little or no mention of what his parents were like, his multiple wives and divorces, his children, his education. What it does contain is anecdote after anecdote after anecdote. These can be very intertesting and very repetitive. In fact, the author repeats himself so many times I felt like the record was skipping. Also, you get the feeling that John Kruth wrote the whole thing in one sitting with practically no editing. This book should have been an excellent artcile in some jazz mag. Instead, it is a sad presentation of Kirk's fascinating life and the only bio we have. For that reason alone I would reccomend it to the hard-core Kirk fans (and you must be one if you're taking the time to read this). Otherwise turn on the TV.

I encountered this book when I ducked into a library on a sweltering day while on vacation. The title attracted me because of its association with Kirk. Lo and behold, it was about Roland Kirk! I sat down with it and was immediately pulled in. The book is mostly anecdotal which means you get to enjoy many "voices" but it does occasionally get confusing because people refer to people you haven't been introduced to and much of what is said is repeated by others throughout the book. It must have been a bear organizing the stuff. Still..Kirk was simply amazing and if you love to read liner notes on jazz albums, well this is like reading one giant liner note, worthy of a giant boxed set. Lots of fun and you have to be inspired by the man's spirit.

Like many other readers, I was quite excited to see a book on Rahsaan, a long-time musical hero. However, I can't agree more with the Kirkus review; this is one long, rambling book without focus. I'm only 1/3 of the way thru & may not even finish it. Kirk's is a great story but it's not here.

I only made it about 150 pages into this book. I have recently discovered Roland Kirk's wonderful music and wanted to know more about his life, musical influences, and achievements. Kruth is long on interview comments, but short on evaluation or insight. He relates many stories about Kirk, who was quite a character (to put it nicely), but these tend to be repetitious. Especially overdone are comments to the effect that: "Yes, he could play three instruments at once, but he was a serious musician." Fine, I got it after the fifth reference.

Some readers will be bothered by the needless profanity of the book. This could have been edited out of the interview comments. I found them distasteful.

There are some very humorous and revealing stories about Kirk. The story of how a blind, African-American left his mark on jazz is not without merrit. The musical analysis, however, cannot hold a candle to Lewis Porter's "John Coltrane." How Kirk fit into the larger cultural, racial movements of the 1960s was not explored any real depth--although I did not read the entire book. Given the level of analysis of what I did read, I doubt it gets much more profound later int the book.

Because Kirk was underrated and often dismissed as a novelty act, it is good, I suppose, that there is finally an entire book about his life and music. However, the book leaves something to be desired.

Douglas Groothuis

Most of the remarks about this book are, to me, puzzling and seem to indicate that the readers don't know very much about the musical life of this great artist.

Musical biographies should do one thing: shed light on what in the artist's life led to his or her particular conception. Do I care who Rahsaan's parents were? What they did? What kind of food his sister liked? Not necessarily; only in connection to the work that he ultimately produced. We should also ask, of course, why we should care about the artist's contributions to music as a whole, and his or her effect on society at large. Kruth attempts to do both.

He chooses to treat his subject primarily from the vantage point of the musicians who influenced him and the people upon whom he had an influence. Not surprisingly, the opinions expressed are strong, and mostly favorable. Anyone who reads the book should have no doubt as to the force of Rahsaan's music and the forces of the mid to late '60s that helped produce it. Rahsaan emerged as a musical hero to many of us who came of age during that time when music seemed to be, as Coltrane said, "a force for real good." How strange that sounds in 2004.

The latter, then, may be the greatest flaw of the book. Those, like me, who saw Rahsaan perform and who own most, if not all, of his recorded music, will understand the testimonials to the power of his art and the force of his personality. Those who haven't bothered to investigate his music in depth won't get it. Those who have not listened carefully to his work will not understand the success he had in melding the "black classical music" of jazz, as he called it, with pop influences. In that sense, Kruth may have failed, if his effort is to bring additional listeners to Rahsaan's music.

That said, for me, the book's most compelling messages come from Joel Dorn, the man who produced Rahsaan's greatest records, and who was, in turn, his greatest champion and critic. Dorn points out throughout the book that the justifiable anger Rahsaan held toward the commercialism that helps to control what we listen to was, in some ways, his greatest drawback. Even his closest friends found his deep resentment against mainstream society puzzling, especially, as Dorn points out, because Rahsaan himself was a middle class guy who believed--and succeeded in proving--that the most far-out sounds had strong roots in everyday music of the masses.

It is this last notion that Kruth brings out best in the book, and I value his contribution to jazz biographies because I recognize the voice of a kindred spirit. He hears what I hear in Rahsaan's music. My hope is that others, in reading the book, will find reason to listen.

Mr. Kruth has done all of us who have enjoyed the music of Rahsaaan Roland Kirk a great service. Articles in magazines and album liner notes simply aren't able to give a full insite into an artists life. Mr. kruth's book has done that and more. I spent a entire Saturday reading the book from cover to cover, and I'll tell you this: I thoroughly enjoyed that saturday!Truly a Bright Moment.

John Kruth's Bright Moments covers the life of jazz avant garde musician Rahsaan Roland Kirk, providing the first biography of the musician in print and examining his works and life. Three years of interviews and research contribute to a title packed with anecdotes and insights.