Biography
Rahsaan Roland Kirk, the sightless jazz performer whose command of multiple horns proved as decisive for John Kruth as the examples of the Beatles or Bob Dylan, arguably exerted an even stronger pull. Although the two never met, Kirk’s command of saxophone, clarinet, and flute, together with the force of his personality, left a lasting mark on the younger player. While still a teenager in New York, Kruth heard Kirk’s eclectic approach broadcast over the radio and suddenly understood that a musician need not limit himself to a single instrument; that realization launched Kruth’s own multi-instrumental journey.
Nearly two decades after Kirk’s death, the connection resurfaced in 1995 when Kruth, laid low by a thyroid condition that halted touring, lay confined to bed. The prospect of chronicling his hero’s life supplied fresh purpose, and roughly three years of interviews with Kirk’s friends, family, and associates produced the biography Bright Moments: The Life and Legacy of Rahsaan Roland Kirk, issued by Welcome Rain. Kruth also joined producer Joel Dorn to write the notes and co-produce the posthumous live set Dog Years in the Fourth Ring.
Kruth made his home in Milwaukee from the 1980s through 1995, performing with the Milwaukee Creative Music Ensemble and the group that accompanied the Violent Femmes. After relocating to New York he led his own quartet, Reckless Optimism, in a style he called folkloric jazz. Further collaborations linked him with Hal Wilner, Garth Hudson, and John Cale, and he has released roughly half a dozen albums under his own name. Poetry forms another strand of his work; his first poem appeared in print when he was eighteen, and later pieces have been featured in Rolling Stone and the New York Times.
Nearly two decades after Kirk’s death, the connection resurfaced in 1995 when Kruth, laid low by a thyroid condition that halted touring, lay confined to bed. The prospect of chronicling his hero’s life supplied fresh purpose, and roughly three years of interviews with Kirk’s friends, family, and associates produced the biography Bright Moments: The Life and Legacy of Rahsaan Roland Kirk, issued by Welcome Rain. Kruth also joined producer Joel Dorn to write the notes and co-produce the posthumous live set Dog Years in the Fourth Ring.
Kruth made his home in Milwaukee from the 1980s through 1995, performing with the Milwaukee Creative Music Ensemble and the group that accompanied the Violent Femmes. After relocating to New York he led his own quartet, Reckless Optimism, in a style he called folkloric jazz. Further collaborations linked him with Hal Wilner, Garth Hudson, and John Cale, and he has released roughly half a dozen albums under his own name. Poetry forms another strand of his work; his first poem appeared in print when he was eighteen, and later pieces have been featured in Rolling Stone and the New York Times.
Albums
