Rahsaan Roland Kirk could! Join Frank Johnson on Tuesday, February 7, at 1 pm to learn about this sadly nearly forgotten Jazz musician. He was one of the most intriguing figures in American music. He became blind as a young child but developed into a talented multi-instrumentalist. His vast knowledge of jazz and its history enabled him to be proficient in forms ranging from Dixieland to the avant-garde. While his dominant instrument was the tenor sax, he also played the flute, clarinet, and two other unique reed instruments: the manzello and the stritch. He developed a technique of circular breathing and fingering that enabled him to play three instruments (tenor sax, manzello, stritch) simultaneously. Kirk played with Charles Mingus and others, but most of his career was as a leader of his own ensembles. Rahsaan was an influential and highly-respected musician from the late 1950s until his death in 1977. He has become something of a forgotten figure in recent years, but his unique story is worth rerevisiting.
Our presenter, Frank Johnson, has a lifelong passion and interest in African-American music: jazz, blues, rhythm & blues, soul, and Afro-Latin. He has a collection of over 4,000 albums covering these genres. In addition, he has a personal library of over 250 books on African-American musical styles, musicians, and cultural influences.
The UMASC Winter Lecture Series is free and open to all, so feel free to invite friends and family members! But you must register in order to attend.
All lectures will be presented via Zoom.
When you select this series, you may attend as many lectures as you please.
Each week, prior to the lecture, you will receive an email with your Zoom invitation.
Lectures are offered on Tuesdays at 1:00 pm, plus one additional lecture on Thursday, March 2, at 1:00 pm. Click here to see more information about each lecture and the presenters. Tuesday, Feb. 7 A Retrospective of Rahsaan Roland Kirk with Frank Johnson Tuesday, Feb. 14 The Century of the Surgeon with Peter Rosenberg Tuesday, Feb. 21 Wandering Around Maine with Elizabeth Reinsborough Tuesday, Feb. 28 Journey to Newfoundland (part 1) with Cheryl & Louis Fontaine Thursday, Mar. 2 Journey to Newfoundland (part 2) with Cheryl & Louis Fontaine Tuesday, Mar. 7 Maine’s Angel of Bataan with Walter MacDougall
How to register for classes:
Click on the following link to the Winter Lecture Series page.
Click on the blue “Add to Cart” button.
Next, click on the blue “View Cart” button.
Ignore the part about adding membership and go to the bottom of the page. Then, click on the blue “Proceed to Checkout” button.
Fill in the required information.
You will notice a box under “Additional Information.” Write the name of your senior college here (if you are a senior college member).
Click on “Place Order.”
You are registered! You will receive an email confirming your registration. Just ignore the page that comes up requesting payment.
For more information, call the UMASC office: 207-621-3551 or email: office@umasc.org. Emails often receive the quickest response because they are instantly distributed to the staff at home.
Photo by Heinrich Klaffs, cc-by-sa-2.0.
