Coming to NYC’s Rooftop Films tomorrow, Saturday, July 26: THE CASE OF THE THREE SIDED DREAM
Adam Kahan’s tribute to innovative jazz musician Rahsaan Roland Kirk made its debut at SXSW this Spring. Its festival run includes Full Frame, Maine, jazz fests in New York and Burlington, and the upcoming Pan African fest in Atlanta and Don’t Knock the Rock in LA.
Rahsaan Roland Kirk was a self-described Black classical musician, whose accidental blinding shortly after birth predisposed him to experience the world largely through sound. A musical child prodigy, Kirk developed a unique sound and a penchant for playing multiple instruments simultaneously, becoming, in effect, a one-man band – even playing the recorder through his nose when his mouth was otherwise engaged in certain pieces. Kahan’s film, despite the insider nature of its title, a variation on a 1975 Kirk album that only fans are likely to be aware of, provides more than enough context and background to fill-in those viewers who have never been exposed to the musician before. While anecdote-filled interviews with family, friends, and musician collaborators offer personal appreciations, the strength of the film for music fans is in Kahan’s employ of a range of archival footage showing the virtuoso in various performances, from THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW to jazz fest appearances.
what (not) to doc 