His goal isn't to stump you, but to stretch you. That reminds me of a comment I once heard at a Roland Kirk (later Rashan Roland Kirk) show at a Chicago nightclub. Halfway through the first set, some drunk in the audience yelled, "play some Coltrane."
Instead of getting mad or, worse, playing like Coltrane, Kirk calmly said, "if Brother John Coltrane were still alive and here tonight, he would say 'Roland, extend yourself.' I am now going to extend myself." And he proceeded to blast out his best improvisation of the evening.
BTW, I always liked Kirk the best when he played one instrument, not when he did the trick of playing three reed instruments at once. Yes, it was amazing that the music wasn't awful when he played three horns. But it wasn't especially good or inspired, either. |
