Roland Kirk - The Inflated Tear (1967)(2002)

Roland Kirk (later to be known as Rahsaan Roland Kirk) is one of the most interesting characters in the jazz world. Though he is most well known for his ability to play 3 instruments at once, (stritch, a straightened out Eb alto sax, manzello, a slightly curved Bb soprano sax, and the tenor saxophone), his invention of new instruments, and his charming stage persona, simply outlining his eccentricities does not do him justice. He was a very exciting improviser, and one who was capable in every area of jazz music. It may be interesting to note that he was blind for most of his life, from age 2 on up. It’s also pretty amazing that after a stroke in 1975 that left half of his body paralyzed, Kirk was able to continue to play the saxophone one-handed, since the technique he had employed all of his career called for it.

AllMusic Review by Thom Jurek
The debut recording by Roland Kirk (this was still pre-Rahsaan) on Atlantic Records, the same label that gave us Blacknuss and Volunteered Slavery, is not the blowing fest one might expect upon hearing it for the first time. In fact, producer Joel Dorn and label boss Neshui Ertegun weren't prepared for it either. Kirk had come to Atlantic from Emarcy after recording his swan song for them, the gorgeous Now Please Don't You Cry, Beautiful Edith, in April. In November Kirk decided to take his quartet of pianist Ron Burton, bassist Steve Novosel, and drummer Jimmy Hopps and lead them through a deeply introspective, slightly melancholy program based in the blues and in the groove traditions of the mid-'60s. Kirk himself used the flutes, the strich, the Manzello, whistle, clarinet, saxophones, and more -- the very instruments that had created his individual sound, especially when some of them were played together, and the very things that jazz critics (some of whom later grew to love him) castigated him for. Well, after hearing the restrained and elegantly layered "Black and Crazy Blues," the stunning rendered "Creole Love Call," the knife-deep soul in "The Inflated Tear," and the twisting in the wind lyricism of "Fly by Night," they were convinced -- and rightfully so. Roland Kirk won over the masses with this one too, selling over 10,000 copies in the first year. This is Roland Kirk at his most poised and visionary; his reading of jazz harmony and fickle sonances are nearly without peer. And only Mingus understood Ellington in the way Kirk did. That evidence is here also. If you are looking for a place to start with Kirk, this is it.