Rahn Burton, RIP

[clifford_thornton]

Sad!

Just got the following email:

Rahn Burton Memorial Service

Today Sunday Jan 27th

from 3pm to 8pm

at 449 LA Jazz Gallery

Lenox Ave. (132nd / 133rd)

Harlem NY

(212) 234-3298 449

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (PSA)

RAHN BURTON EMERGENCY MEMORIAL BENEFIT

The legendary jazz pianist Rahn (William ) Burton most famous for his work with Rahsaan Roland Kirk died Friday night Jan 25 th at St Lukes Roosevelt Hospital. in Manhattan. An Emergency Memorial Benefit for Rahn Burton is being held tomorrow Sunday Jan 27 from 3pm to 8pm at 449 LA Jazz Gallery @449 Lenox Ave (corner 132nd st ) from 3pm to 8pm .

All proceeds will go to address immediate internment expenses and necessaries as well as estate emergency expenses .

Mr Burton is survived by his son Akemela Burton who is also the administrator of his estate .

If you cannot attend The Memorial Benefit in person, please send you donation to the attention of Akemela Burton

c/o Rahn Burton Estate 484 west 43rd Street Apt 14 H NY NY 10021

For further info about tne Memorial Benefit call 212 591 0583 or call Sandy @ 212 234 3298

The University of The Streets

130 East 7th Street

New York, NY 10009

[JSngry]

Sorry to hear this.

[GA Russell]

RIP. I saw him play with Kirk at the Cellar Door, and he was great.

[marcello]

I used to see him play at a place called Syncopation on Waverly St in NYC quite a bit, and of course with RRK. It was always a pleasure.

[king ubu]

Very sad news.

Short LA Times obit:

http://jazztimes.com/articles/72009-pianist-rahn-ron-burton-dies-at-78

[Bright Moments]

RIP Rahn Burton. I know you are reunited with RRK and there is some good music coming up from above!!!

Bright Moments!!!

[brownie]

This is sad...

A very underrated pianist!

[sidewinder]

A very underrated pianist!

Indeed - superb performance on 'The Inflated Tear'. Always enjoyed his playing, RIP.

[Justin V]

I really like his playing on Bright Moments. RIP.

[B. Goren.]

Sad news. RIP Mr. Burton.

[jeffcrom]

Like many others, I enjoyed his playing with Rahsaan. I heard him once in person, the night Hamiett Bluiett fired Don Byron; it was a strange, uncomfortable experience at the time, although it's pretty funny, thinking about it now.

It was the spring of 1988 - I went to hear what was billed as the Hamiet Bluiett Big Band at Carlos I. It was actually a medium-sized band, nine or ten pieces, including Rahn Burton, Victor Bailey, Don Byron (on clarinet and alto), and Joe Daley that I remember. There were only about seven people in the audience, but the band played as if there were 200 people in the club. That is until, during one of Bluiett's solos, Don Byron started talking to the tenor player. Bluiett cut the band off and started chewing out Byron; he pointed to us in the audience and said, "Every one of these people is more into the music than you are!" He got more and more wound up, and really started preaching. So Rahn Burton started playing gospel chords behind him, and the rest of the rhythm section fell in. Bluiett started listing the playing credits of everyone in the band: "Rahn Burton: Rahsaan Roland Kirk! Victor Bailey: Weather Report!" When he got to Byron, he pointed to him and said, "You: no one!"

He then left the bandstand, and the rest of the band followed, except for Byron, who sat there looking shocked; he eventually started putting his instruments away My wife and I waited around for 30 minutes, and finally walked out. Joe Daley was standing outside, and I asked him if they were going to play more. He didn't know, and was kind of in shock himself.

Rahn Burton turned a very uncomfortable situation into a (somewhat) humorous one; I'm glad I experienced that. RIP.

Edited January 29, 2013 by jeffcrom

[clifford_thornton]

That's an awesome story!

[six string]

Never saw him perform live but I've enjoyed his records with Kirk. He was a good fit for RRK. He seemed to be able to play anything Rhasan threw at him which couldn't have been easy.

[soulpope]

RIP

Also loved his co-operation with Rahsaan, but he was also nicely featured on Beaver Harri`s outing "Beautifull Africa" on Soulnote (from the late 70`s)

[ep1str0phy]

I was always a little perturbed by the traditional critical assessment of The Inflated Tear--i.e., that it's middleweight Rahsaan with an undistinguished band. It was maybe the second Roland Kirk album I got my hands on (after the Simmer, Reduce, Garnish & Serve compilation--which maybe does compile the Warner Brothers years more effectively than any of the individual albums), and it may still be my favorite.

No, it's not Rip, Rig & Panic, but the latter is just as much about the myriad hookups on display (Byard/Davis, Kirk/Byard, Davis/Jones, etc. etc.) as it is about Rahsaan himself. The Inflated Tear as all (pre-)Rahsaan's show, and it would be nowhere near as perfect an encapsulation of Kirk's talents as a sheer jazz musician without that unbelievably kickass band.

Jimmy Hopps + Steve Novosel is king, but man--Burton. That's "pocket" postmodern jazz piano--not as out or flamboyant as Byard, but just as encyclopedic and versatile in its own way. Listening to Burton's filigrees on "The Inflated Tear," his buoyant--but tough-as-nails--comping on "Fly by Night"--and later, ecstatically hammering away on Volunteered Slavery, Tynering at length on Bright Moments, and defying gravity on the spectacular and deeply undervalued Prepare Thyself to Deal with a Miracle--there was/is no denying for me that Burton was really the right man for that job, just like Alice was perfect for late Trane, Ronnie Boykins for Sun Ra, Tony for Miles. That, to me, is a pretty heavy legacy.