Rip, Rig and Panic (album)
| Rip, Rig and Panic | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | December 1965 | |||
| Recorded | January 13, 1965 | |||
| Studio | Van Gelder Studio (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey) | |||
| Genre | Post-bop | |||
| Length | 35:05 | |||
| Label | Limelight | |||
| Producer | Jack Tracy | |||
| Rahsaan Roland Kirk chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | |
Rip, Rig and Panic is a 1965 album by American jazz multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk. It features a quartet of Kirk, Jaki Byard (piano), Richard Davis (bass), and Elvin Jones (drums); they were described as "the most awesome rhythm section he ever recorded with". The session was held at Rudy Van Gelder's Englewood Cliffs studio. The set is made up primarily of original Kirk compositions.
The title of the album was explained by Kirk in the liner notes as follows: "Rip means Rip Van Winkle (or Rest in Peace?); it's the way people, even musicians are. They're asleep. Rig means like rigor mortis. That's where a lot of people’s minds are. When they hear me doing things they didn't think I could do they panic in their minds".
Kirk made many references to pioneers of jazz. "No Tonic Pres" refers to Lester Young; "From Bechet, Byas, and Fats" is a homage to Sidney Bechet, Don Byas, and Fats Waller; and "Once in a While" was inspired by Clifford Brown. Kirk also mentioned Edgard Varèse's compositions Poème électronique and Ionisation as inspirations for the album.
The English post-punk band Rip Rig + Panic named themselves after the album.