Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Volunteered Slavery

[jazzbarat]

Őrület!!!

Qrva jóóóóóóóóóóó!!!!

[onewaystreet123]

My first introduction to jazz 30 years ago and still as magical and vibrant today watching this video brings me great joy, uplifting and life enhancing. I thank you.

[wmpay]

Hes a master circular breather im pretty sure he didnt stop that note on the whole walk around.

[euronymousisdead]

simply stunning!

Beautiful!

[DK4HL]

dvolunteered slavery, is whether you sit on a chair or under a tree, get rid of the chair and you can sit where ever you like, the chair is a symbol of making you sit where ever the chair is

[maskedkoala]

Awesome! That actually makes sense.

[Valwrvr]

This is Michael Angelo Batio's Master !!!

[unklefutura]

Can't stop listening to his album Domino, one of the best albums of all time!!!

[videolover61]

yeah rahsaan...get that mean old chair! lol

[videolover61]

Look at all the young people at his concert. Shit it's exciting! People moving they bods having a great time...jazz aint old folks music...it's everlasting!

[54spiritedwill54]

I love Roland Kirk! Man, that brother could BLOW! :)

[deepintoblues]

That chair had it coming....

[InaBiskit]

I love the fact that people can be so gifted, and express themselves at the same time. This is definately one of the more inspiring music videos. Just hear the soul in that opening line.

[boogster123321]

i cant believe this guy could circlular breathe while playing three horns and be blind! Incredible!!

[TokenRah]

Exactly!

[DannyDesperate]

What's being blind got to do with it, it's no easier even if you can see!!

[boogster123321]

if you played the sax and you were blind since you were born it would be hard to know where all the keys are on the instrument and the fact that he knows all of those wind instruments is impressive

[DannyDesperate]

My point is that the musical and spiritual achievement of RRK is not heightened or diminished by him being blind. Musicality is independent of such matters.  Beethoven was deaf, Stevie Wonder is blind, Django lost his fingers - that is not why their music is wonderful!

[boogster123321]

true true either way awesome song and musician.

[artman182]

I don't agree. I think being blind might be an advantage. It heightens his sense of touch, and if you look at the great musicians they don't look at their instruments when they play. In fact, Art Tatum was a blind piano player, and before every gig would go up and down the piano to find the "bad" notes on the piano. That night he wouldn't use those keys while playing. How'd he do that being blind? Some people are just that damn good, and Roland Kirk is one of them.

[LittleRedKing]

An amazing piece of music and an amazing musician.

[pazzmanmusic]

i wish i could have seen this amazing marvel live in concert.. what a blessing his music is

[deeJslowface]

why did he smash his chair?

well why did pete townsend smash his amp?

why did Jimi burn his guitar?

if you don't know, then you just don't know

[FIRELUIGI4]

why did he smash a chair?

[OLPandW]

There is a surprising amount of white people in that audience

[bobhait]

ever been to Switzerland?

[terrencejones]

why do people have difficulty with the chair thing? I hate chairs but I don't play sax, this means there is commonality! see my videos - birds don't "sit"

[VomitSelf7]

An incredible performance!

I love how he got off stage and walked around with the audience (it reminds me of the scene in the doors where just before he gets arrested he runs out into the audience signing). I love how he smashes the chair!

[montinellini]

pazzesco

[EMCEMITCH]

i saw him numerous times live at the village vanguard---it was mystical and magical and majestic--the best live performances and i saw most of the great ones---this genius always was the best live

[marcus38447226]

my god...ive never seen such disregard for breathing in my life! what an amazing musician

[superjules]

There's a scene somewhere in this concert where the audience forms a conga line to the stage to snort coke with the great man.

[CharlieOlson1127]

he plays with the dignity of a king

[jazzpiano10]

anyone here him quote hey jude at 1:55-2:00? haha this is great.

[CandyBuddah]

I love, love, love Roland Kirk! Man, that brother could BLOW! :) Thank you for posting this vid!

[lesscunning]

i have never seen ANYONE play a show w/ a messenger bag. TOO SICK!!!

[JClore1950]

The bag probably held some of the many instruments he played.

[lesscunning]

great performance all-around...

[Tishagi]

I love how he smashes the chair at the end. What a patriotic sunuvabitch.

[paisCatalunya]

KIRK BUENISIMO.

[JClore1950]

Amazing! His circular breathing technique allowed him to play nonstop!! I saw perform live at Syracuse University's "Jabberwocky" in the early 1970's. What ab incredible performance!!!

[idontknow1965]

Is that what he's doing when you see his cheeks puff way out??

I don't know how to do it...

[JClore1950]

Yes. He explained the technique to the audience during his concert in Syracuse. Because of it, who could play an endless stream of notes without stopping to breathe! It was amazing!

[DominusOminous]

Make a JOYFUL FOCKIN' NOISE!! WHEE-HA! Roland was a singular genius. He touches my soul every time I listen to him. I am SO glad I got to see him play live. That was 35+ years ago and I still think of it at least once every week or two.

[plezurhounds]

Yeah!!!

[Bleach4canada]

circular breathing, playing multiple instruments, and at the same time.

wow

he will be missed

[buttdad58]

Rahsaan was from another planet man.....anyone ever seen a more amazing live performance than that?

[Cheapthrills5]

gong troubles?

[fiddlercrab3]

You can only take so many hits from the gong before things get twisted. ;)

[weeweemonsieur]

gotta love this song!

[phanaticphredphour]

hed be a treat to see play.

[metalburger2]

at 1:58 you can hear him throw in the melody at the end of Hey Jude by The Beatles lol

[terrencejones]

to destroy a chair Roland is my pleasure too

09:20

[greatersiren]

Why the hell does he destroy that chair?

[AnatoK]

Volunteered slavery : don't sit on what transforms you in a slave, instead of that destroy the chair and keep on playing sax for ten minutes :)

[greatersiren]

how does a chair transform you in a slave?

[pookepook]

This is truly amazing, vintage Kirk. Gives a whole new meaning to the expression 'musical chairs'.

[lastwaltz43]

i want to be the guy playing the tambourine

[EMCEMITCH]

listen up yall--in 1974 at carnegie hall rhassan blew all the horn players off the stage---it was a charles mingus date feting duke---check it out on atlantic records--- i saw this cat live many times at the vangurd---best and most exciting performer i saw

[terrencejones]

to destroy a chair Roland is my pleasure too

09:20

[harpcyclone]

This makes me smile. True genius. Real Boldness.

[bpliljoker0796]

If i hed the chance to shake his hand and play with him i would die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mickeseverinftw]

Well you will have to die to jam with him. Good luck :)

[underyourskindvd]

Fantastic

[rararon]

oh my god...I just realized I may have been to this place

[viscousfilm]

Fucking unbelievably great

[ilovecereal371]

How can these fools sit during such a catchy intro?

Shouldn't even have chairs at Rahsaan's concerts.

[peterer5]

this man is a genius!!!

awesome music....yeah!

[peterer5]

awesome!

[DK4HL]

when Rahsaan was playing volunteer slavery in London him and his band were being thrown out of a London Hotel because they were black! ! ! He was a shaman as one comment so rightly said he started a 'Vibration Society' he could tell the soul and character of a person just by their vibration. He was much more than a muscian. A beautiful soul may it live on and a big hug to poophat and all who have sent videos in to keep the vibration going

[JPSaxMan]

For sure...his circular breathing in this piece is spectacular. Ever notice with losers like Kenny G when they try to circular breathe their tone is sacrificed as well? I heard no variation in tone when Kirk did it. Man...that's amazing stuff.

[gomen42]

jimi hendrix on sax

[nkushani]

think...Rahsaan means jimi

[trajhver2]

10 stars..!

[pauleboy]

saw him twice and never sat once during the concert

[mugu50]

that's why he went to the hall of fame...enough to say!!!

[loosestudios]

He died from a second stroke in 1977 after performing at the Bluebird nightclub in Bloomington, Indiana.Kirk was also a major exponent and practitioner of circular breathing. Using this technique, Kirk was not only able to sustain a single note for virtually any length of time; he could also play sixteenth-note runs of almost unlimited length, and at high speeds.

[moistandwanting]

genius on the ranks of godel and einstein possibly most genius man ever

[Damphear]

einstein was a rip of of tesla

[bshahiyd]

Few would get on stage to challenge Rahsaan, because many were sent back to the audience with horn in hand. Rahsaan was a GENIUS far beyond his years!! Blow on Brother!!!

[gorrionero]

he is a shaman...the wizard of the tribe...the man who put you in trance

[ronoman88]

I saw him live too he was fun and exciting but NO genius. Stop saying that.

[Russgershon]

I heard him live several times and he was a GENIUS. He made some great records, but live was 10 X better - there was nobody who could summon up the power of music better.

I love the comment below that the beat gets off at times and that it's just blues changes. He's wrong on both counts.

[nickybrowny]

thank you poophat, you prince of maine, you king of new england! and your user name is hilarious

[seapijin]

Nothing like a good bit of chair-smashing after some hard-core circular-breathing excersises i tell thee...

[dasonny]

fucking rocks, did he hang out with australian aboriginals to get that breathing technique ?

[nickybrowny]

when was this concert held?

[OrnyineVideos]

how can you say he has no talent, he not only was a master of sax improving, but he also started a style of flute playing that has been copied by dozens of players through the years. And about his using the basic blues patterns...hes playing blues, what do you want him to use...minor scales...all his music needed was the basic patterns becuase he did so much with them, his entire soul and body are in his solos.

[nickybrowny]

hey, you don't need drugs to appreciate rahsaan, and methinks you can appreciate it for what it truly is without 'em.

[gorrionero]

un genio

[CadillacL]

I wasn't born till '71..I tell ya the BEST music was late 60's-early 70's....:) listen to that groove. I don't see how anyone wouldnt love this.

[princenosiatajansen]

owesome. without breathe.^^king...he king

[thulittwo]

Awesome.

[JoseyWales93]

That's the craziest musical thing i ever saw... GREAT!!

[easyrider87]

ok, was it good? why in other comments (and you're name obviously) do you hate black people when you clearly enjoyed this?

hypocrite fuck

[Itopenedupmyeyes]

What art!

[symiankrone]

my favorite song

[breezsolo]

Wandering the crowd, hippies with tambourines... Brilliant!

[pazzmanmusic]

possibly the best live music recording i have ever seen...

the man was pure genius,

let the numen fill him and expressed it out of pure love and music

[theroshman]

how is this the best live recording you've seen...?

i respect him, but he wasn't any sort of genius...

the beat keeps getting off at times, and it's just blues changes

[pazzmanmusic]

Are you serious? You don't think R.Kirk was a genius? He was able to play in, out, and around the box... He destroyed musicians at the time with his solo's... His technique on several instruments alone is amazing, let alone the fact that he plays them simultaneously...

I am open to other suggestions however, would like to see what you consider better live performances...

[Odawg96]

Many woodwind player has passed or lost conciousness trying to do the circular breathing thing. Wow, this is the first good video, I've ever seen. I played clarinet, bass clarinet, and contrabass clarinet for several. I tried circular breathing exactly ONCE. :-)

[thulittwo]

Sorry, but this is nonsense. CB is not a miracle, everybody can learn it. Nobody dies of it or even gets sick. Maybe you should just try more than ONCE. It's basically easy, nearly every professional saxophone player today knows about it. (Has to...)

[QsStellarLemon]

ya but it's still real cool to watch, seein his cheeks blow up like that.

[thulittwo]

Of course it is! Rahsaan rules!

[lairdlord]

Rahsaan, miss you brother. Just incredible period.

[bloweduptruck]

Her certainly was a powerful spirit

[SidewalkFrequencies]

Fucking Astounding, He sets that stage ablaze.

[dreidavis]

youra a fucking jerk

[Supreme813]

what does he say at the end? it's probably the secret to great music.

[RedHeadMz]

unbelieveable i wish i could play like that i got a tnor and an alto all i need is a barritone lol...

[MCJohnnyFresh]

I couldn't approach his cool with an iceberg. He's the man.

[ianhart]

Just amazing...

[realAfrikaanRhythm]

don't be a racist. "blackfractals" is white. just click on his user name.

[blackfractals]

look at that white-ass crowd

[hafjapmatt]

How do you circular breathe?

I really want to do this technique. Message me back if you have any tips.

[beenmean]

Ok, fill you cheeks with air and hold that in. Then use your nose to refill as you use up the air in your mouth.

[abraxasjp]

Practise ! Use your body like a bagpipes...

Look at books about didjiredoo.

See Evan Praker, Michel Doneda...

[ilovecereal371]

The best analogy is when you're taking a drink from a water fountain. During which you may fill your mouth with water, but hold it in to breathe for a second, and then you swallow. Same idea, hold the air in your mouth, breathe in while pushing out the air in your mouth with your cheeks.

[XxSaxCannon921xX]

wow, that was amazing

[EkBalam707]

Muy talentoso! Impresionante su respiracion inhalacion y exhalacion. Excelente Musico.

[hollymnorman]

Soooo...Soooo....Much Respect. that stage was on Fire.

[Francozen]

Rahssan is one of the most brilliant saxophonists ever!

[RuDiger2]

You got me man...officially jealous...

The man had already passed away when I wa only 1 year old...

[0x1]

Rahsaan, you MAGNIFICENT BASTARD!!! Still one of my favorite Jazz artists. blows me away every time.

[jazzguitar1221]

this is insane just look at how does not take one breath its crazy man pure fuckin genius

[XeNoyZ]

... dude you kiddin right? Do you really think he doesn't breathe? Look at his cheeks! He just teached himself the trick of breathing in and out at the same time. The world record longest sax note has been set by someone who mastered this technique too.

[tubakenn]

Ya the technique is called circular breathing. I'm trying to master it rite now. Krazy hard. And I think the worlds longest note on sax was set by Kenny G.

[ricbear]

Actually, it is Rahsaan who really holds the record - he played a note for 2 1/2 hours, but he pissed off the Guinness people, so it didn't go in the record books.

[Bzzzpuk]

he looks like a frog, brilliant sax player though

[ricbear]

I think anyone who tries to play three saxes at one would look like some sort of reptile...

[tomrom7]

Please, do not mention Rahsaan and Kenny G in the same sentence. Rahsaan was genius; Kenny G is crap.

[davidjrudram]

Pure genius. I am extremely upset that more people don't know about Roland Kirk. We must spread the word!

[inexecrable]

Jazz at its best.

[ilovecereal371]

One of my favorite videos.

Blind musicians make the best musicians don't you think?

[weblock]

i wish this video was longer , i hate coming down !

[Mingushead]

Sweet vid, but don't quite understand when he destroyed the chair...lol...anywho, Rahsaan rules!!!

[klesh1]

Thank you for these very beautiful bright moments.

[EarthBreakers]

That was one of the best things I've ever heard.  That was insane.

[hartalum73]

Yah, Rahsaan rules.

[jazmaan]

Hendrix dug him!

[tonyfreejazz20]

Wow. Brilliant clip. Thanks.

[betterdays105]

Still one of the most exciting performers I have ever seen. A true miracle. Thanks for the reminder. He is missed.

[Jerseygirltoo]

Excellent illustration of his circular breathing technique.

[RichA87]

Great clip but, what did that chair do to him.

[theleaderoftheCTOA]

gotta love the "hey jude" riff

conch shell a tad unessisary though

....feel bad for the chair

[nantucketsleighrider]

Daliscape? You name says enough. Anyone who loves Dali's hollow paintings and money grabbing attitude probably wouldn't appreciate this music. Rahsaan laughs at you from above. Idiot

[daliscape]

Yep that pretty much sucked, or should that be blowed, comedic self-indulgent tripe.

[crabbyjeweler]

When you don't know a lot you shouldn't say much

[daliscape]

When you know plenty you should share it.

[crabbyjeweler]

being a legend in ones' own mind is a full time job, take too many breaks and job performance will go down

zip it

[mothermoore]

I would call daliscape brainless jackass for his dim witted comments but whats the use you just cant fix stupid.

[cosmicommander]

you are a complete moron

[Ewerb7]

As Louis Armstrong once stated, "If they don't know, there just ain't no tellin' them." This seems to be the case here.

[simmiecity]

as rahsaan himself said: "Everything that somebody don't understand, and anything that anybody can't get down into it, they gonna tell you it ain't no good."

[Jazzman555]

He also said he wanted to be cremated and thrown into a big bag of hash and pot and all his friends to smoke him. This guy is such an amazing player and a legend

[pjgrabowski]

no way?! how did you find that out?!

[Jazzman555]

he says it on his album the man who cried fire witch i think is his best ever album on one of his speeches

[bpliljoker0796]

o yeah u punk what u gonna do about it

[nantucketsleighrider]

Volunteered Slavery! What a tune!

[Jav22]

a true legend indeed! watch documentary teaser on rhasaan roland kirk. Don't forget to leave comments.

[Jav22]

a true legend indeed! watch a documentary teaser on rhasaan roland kirk doumentary on my page. Don't forget to leave comments.

[Depravo]

Post the other 30 minutes of this Montreux clip!!! Spirit!!!

[BlueTrane101]

Rahsaan, you magnificient bastard! (

[royal1leroy]

the true sound of freedom ringing