Inga: "Volunteered Slavery" (Rahsaan Roland Kirk Cover)

Before you even hear him play a note, the figure cut by the late Rahsaan Roland Kirk is a raucous one, three saxophones jammed into his mouth, more instruments than he has hands. When you listen to this jazz lion play, it’s crazy, not just because of the massive sound those three instruments produce in concert. Kirk creates such cohesive beauty in what seems like it should be an unmanageable mess. As far as I can tell, no one in Inga—the project of Sam Gendel, sideman in Inc.—performs more than one instrument simultaneously, so on their cover of Kirk’s “Volunteered Slavery,” they carry on his spirit with sweet control.

First released in 1969, “Volunteered Slavery” is, admittedly, one of Kirk’s catchier tunes, featuring bursts of soulful vocals that joyfully proclaim “volunteered slavery has got me on the run.” Inga’s version smooths some of Kirk’s messier edges and transforms the song into a meditation over protest. His version is lush, with brushed drums and funky bass, the kind of playing that shows up on meticulous studio albums of R&B masters. There’s a guitar solo worthy of Pat Metheny, which should reintroduce his gentle style of shred to a new generation. The track’s reprise works in a saxophone reference to the melody of John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme,” too. Though Inga is using the work of its forefathers as a base, it’s in loving tribute that they create reconfigurations and continuations of that music. What’s old is the logistics, what’s new is the feeling.

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