USA, 1968, post-bop

Roland Kirk – The Inflated Tear: Davis played the trumpet, Coltrane the saxophone, but Kirk plays (at least on this album) the tenor saxophone, the manzello, the stritch, the clarinet, the flute, the whistle, the English horn, and the flexatone. From what I’ve read, the manzello and the stritch are variants on the sax but different shapes, and thus producing different sounds. This cat knows his sounds and knows just what he wants, whether it’s smooth or rough, bitter or sweet. It’s all good. This is one of the most impressive post-bop albums I’ve heard.