The Roland Kirk Quartet Meets the Benny Golson Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The Roland Kirk Quartet Meets the Benny Golson Orchestra is an album by jazz multi-instrumentalist Roland Kirk
. It was originally released on the Mercury
label in 1964 and features performances by Kirk with Harold Mabern
, Abdullah Rafik, Sonny Brown and Benny Golson
's Orchestra featuring Virgil Jones, Richard Williams
, Charles Greenlea, Tom McIntosh
, Don Butterfield
, Albert "Tootie" Heath and Richard Davis.
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Rahsaan Roland Kirk was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played tenor saxophone, flute and many other instruments...
. It was originally released on the Mercury
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
label in 1964 and features performances by Kirk with Harold Mabern
Harold Mabern
Harold Mabern is a hard bop and soul jazz pianist.Early in his career, Mabern played in Chicago with Walter Perkins' MJT + 3 in the late 1950s before moving to New York in 1959. Mabern has worked with Jimmy Forrest, Lionel Hampton, the Jazztet , Donald Byrd, Miles Davis , J. J...
, Abdullah Rafik, Sonny Brown and Benny Golson
Benny Golson
Benny Golson is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger.-Biography:While in high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Golson played with several other promising young musicians, including John Coltrane, Red Garland, Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath, Philly Joe Jones, and...
's Orchestra featuring Virgil Jones, Richard Williams
Richard Williams
Richard Williams is a Canadian animator. He is best known for serving as animation director on Disney/Amblin's Who Framed Roger Rabbit and for his unfinished feature film The Thief and the Cobbler...
, Charles Greenlea, Tom McIntosh
Tom McIntosh
Thomas S. McIntosh is an American jazz composer and trombonist.McIntosh was born in Baltimore, Maryland and studied at Peabody Conservatory. He played trombone in an Army band, and eventually graduated from Juilliard in 1958. He played in New York City from 1956, with Lee Morgan, Roland Kirk,...
, Don Butterfield
Don Butterfield
Don Butterfield was an American jazz and classical tuba player.-Biography:Butterfield took up tuba in high school. He wanted to play trumpet, but the band director assigned him to tuba instead. After serving in the U.S...
, Albert "Tootie" Heath and Richard Davis.
Track listing
- All compositions by Roland Kirk except as indicated.
- "Ecclusiastics" (Charles MingusCharles MingusCharles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
) - 4:27 - "By Myself" (Howard DietzHoward DietzHoward Dietz was an American publicist, lyricist, and librettist.-Biography:Dietz was born in New York City and studied journalism at Columbia University...
, Arthur SchwartzArthur SchwartzArthur Schwartz was an American composer and film producer.Schwartz supported his legal studies at New York University and postgraduate studies at Columbia University by playing piano before concentrating his talents on vaudeville, Broadway theatre and Hollywood.Among his Broadway musicals are The...
) - 4:20 - "Roland Speaks" (Roland Kirk, Benny Golson) - 3:04
- "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley SquareA Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (song)"A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" is a romantic British popular song written in 1939 with lyrics by Eric Maschwitz and music by Manning Sherwin.-Setting:...
" (Manning SherwinManning SherwinManning Sherwin was an American composer. Born in Philadelphia, Sherwin attended Columbia University before embarking upon a long career in musical theatre and films....
, Eric MaschwitzEric MaschwitzAlbert Eric Maschwitz OBE , known as Eric Maschwitz and sometimes credited as Holt Marvell, was an English entertainer, writer, broadcaster and broadcasting executive.-Life and work:...
) - 5:13 - "Variations on a Theme by Hindemith" - 3:28
- "I've Got Your Number" (Cy ColemanCy ColemanCy Coleman was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist.-Life and career:He was born Seymour Kaufman on June 14, 1929, in New York City to Eastern European Jewish parents, and was raised in the Bronx. His mother, Ida was an apartment landlady and his father was a brickmason...
, Carolyn LeighCarolyn LeighCarolyn Leigh was an American lyricist for Broadway, movies, and popular songs. She is best known as the writer with partner Cy Coleman of the pop standards "Witchcraft" and "The Best Is Yet to Come."-Biography:...
) - 5:55 - "Between the Fourth and the Fifth Step" - 3:41
- "April Morning" - 3:43
- "Get in the Basement" - 4:03
- "Abstract Improvisation" - 1:58
- Recorded in New York on June 11 (tracks 1-5) & June 12 (tracks 6-10), 1963
- "Ecclusiastics" (Charles Mingus
Personnel
- Roland Kirk: tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
, manzelloManzello"Manzello" is the name that Rahsaan Roland Kirk gave to an HN White King Saxello onto which he had affixed a mellophone bell. See also stritch.-References:* The Oxford Companion to Jazz, edited by Bill Kirchner Oxford Press , p...
, stritchStritchStritch may refer to:* Stritch , musical instrument* Samuel Stritch , American cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church** Cardinal Stritch High School, Oregon, Ohio, named after him...
, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, sirenSirenIn Greek mythology, the Sirens were three dangerous mermaid like creatures, portrayed as seductresses who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. Roman poets placed them on an island called Sirenum scopuli... - Virgil Jones, Richard WilliamsRichard WilliamsRichard Williams is a Canadian animator. He is best known for serving as animation director on Disney/Amblin's Who Framed Roger Rabbit and for his unfinished feature film The Thief and the Cobbler...
: trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
(tracks 1-5) - Charles Greenlea, Tom McIntoshTom McIntoshThomas S. McIntosh is an American jazz composer and trombonist.McIntosh was born in Baltimore, Maryland and studied at Peabody Conservatory. He played trombone in an Army band, and eventually graduated from Juilliard in 1958. He played in New York City from 1956, with Lee Morgan, Roland Kirk,...
: tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
(tracks 1-5) - Harold MabernHarold MabernHarold Mabern is a hard bop and soul jazz pianist.Early in his career, Mabern played in Chicago with Walter Perkins' MJT + 3 in the late 1950s before moving to New York in 1959. Mabern has worked with Jimmy Forrest, Lionel Hampton, the Jazztet , Donald Byrd, Miles Davis , J. J...
: pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Richard Davis: bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
(tracks 1-5) - Abdullah Rafik: bass (tracks 6-10)
- Albert Heath: drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(tracks 1-5) - Sonny Brown: drums (tracks 6-10)
- Tom McIntoshTom McIntoshThomas S. McIntosh is an American jazz composer and trombonist.McIntosh was born in Baltimore, Maryland and studied at Peabody Conservatory. He played trombone in an Army band, and eventually graduated from Juilliard in 1958. He played in New York City from 1956, with Lee Morgan, Roland Kirk,...
: trombone (tracks 6-8) - Richard Davis: bass (tracks 6-8)
- Benny GolsonBenny GolsonBenny Golson is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger.-Biography:While in high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Golson played with several other promising young musicians, including John Coltrane, Red Garland, Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath, Philly Joe Jones, and...
: conductor, arranger (tracks 1-5)