Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Kirkatron (1977/2011) [Official Digital Download 24/192]

Shortly after Rahsaan Roland Kirk finished his first album for Warner Brothers, he suffered a major stroke that put him out of action and greatly shortened his life. His second LP for the label was actually comprised of leftovers from the earlier session plus three songs taken from an appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival; the latter has been reissued on CD in a sampler but the other selections (which include "Serenade to a Cuckoo," his cover of "This Masquerade," "Sugar," "The Christmas Song" and "Bright Moments") remain out of print. This LP (which finds him mostly sticking to tenor), Kirk's next-to-last album, has enough highlights to make it worth searching for. AllMusic Review by Scott Yanow

Tracklist:
01. Serenade To A Cuckoo (03:40)
02. This Masquerade (05:31)
03. Sugar (03:27)
04. Los Angeles Negro Blues (00:26)
05. Steppin' Into Beauty (06:42)
06. Christmas Song (03:34)
07. Bagpipe Medley (02:38)
08. Mary McLeod Bethune (00:24)
09. Bright Moments (04:14)
10. Lyriconon (04:10)
11. Night In Tunisia (04:59)
12. J. Griff's Blues (07:41)

Personnel:
Bass – Charles "Buster" Williams (tracks: 9), Gordon Edwards (tracks: 2, 11), Mattathias Pearson (tracks: 1, 5, 10, 12), Milton Suggs (tracks: 3, 5)
Cello – Kermit Moore (tracks: 6)
Drums – Bill Carney (tracks: 6), Charles Persip (tracks: 9), James Madison (tracks: 2, 11), Jerry Griffin (tracks: 10), Sonny Brown (tracks: 1, 5, 12), Walter Perkins (tracks: 3, 5)
Flute – Rahsaan Roland Kirk (tracks: 1, 5, 12)
Guitar – Billy Butler (tracks: 6, 10), Cornell Dupree (tracks: 2, 11)
Keyboards – Hilton Ruiz (tracks: 1-3, 5, 7, 9-11), Richard Tee (tracks: 2, 11)
Lyricon – Rahsaan Roland Kirk (tracks: 10)
Organ – Trudy Pitts (tracks: 6)
Percussion – Todd Barkan (tracks: 1, 5, 12), Tony Waters (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 7, 12)
Reeds – Romeo Penque (tracks: 9)
Tenor Saxophone – Rahsaan Roland Kirk (tracks: 1-3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12)
Trombone – Stephen Turre (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 11)
Tuba – Howard Johnson (tracks: 9)
Viola – Alfred Brown (tracks: 6), Selwart Clarke (tracks: 6)
Violin – Sanford Allen (tracks: 6)