Kirk's Work

Recorded live at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio on July 11, 1961, Kirk’s Work is a meeting of the minds between saxophonist Roland Kirk and organist Jack McDuff. Though Kirk would explore astral planes later in his career, his music was always in the strain of rootsy blues-based tunes as shown here. The luscious tone of Kirk’s tenor horn is the perfect foil for the sticky, stabbing notes of McDuff’s Hammond B-3. Even though the structures are relatively simple, you can witness the pair of soloists sailing to freedom on “Makin’ Whoopee” and “The Skaters Waltz.” Every once in a while the listener can hear Kirk blow into a comic whistle, as if to punctuate the good time they’re having. With its shape-shifting time signature and Latin flavor, “Doin’ the Sixty-Eight” is the most unusual and seductive song here, but that doesn’t mean it’s the most engaging. Magic happens when Kirk picks up his flute for “Funk Underneath,” and his essence is equally represented on the simmering ballad “Too Late Now.”