Roland Kirk was perhaps foremost a tenor sax player, but one should add to that flute, stritch and manzello, and one should also add that often he would play them all at once! So even before encountering his music one can marvel at just how he managed that? How did he breathe, control the instruments, how did he get them into his mouth? Then when the suitably intrigued listener finally does hear the music the marvel is multiplied a hundred-fold: this two-in-one album is one of the most exciting and stunning that you'll hear. Kirk mixes bop, funk, R&B, avant-garde and genres yet to be named into a soup of sound which avoids being the unruly mess one might expect and instead is truly enthralling. And for those who may be put off by the avant-garde, rest assured that Kirk had the gift of being both cutting-edge and solidly accessible. Taken separately Rip, Rig and Panic and Now Please Don't You Cry Beautiful Edith are desirable purchases, but now together on a single CD, they are truly essential. --Phil Brett
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