I received word this morning that my friend Joseph "Habao" Texidor died of a heart attack last Friday. Joe told me that he was a troubled young man when he met Rahsaan Roland Kirk one day in Colony Records in New York (Joe had just started work as a clerk in the store, and none of the other clerks liked dealing with Kirk) and his relationship with the saxophonist changed his life. As Kirk's percussionist and "eyes" on the road, Joe went around the world and got an extended education from one of the music's true geniuses.
Joe was a pretty shy, humble guy when I knew him, and over the years we emailed each other to mark the deaths of various people who had passed through Kirk's band. The last time we saw each other we had a Chinese meal in honour of pianist Hilton Ruiz, who was supposed to have joined us before he was murdered in New Orleans.
You won't find anything on Joe in any of the jazz encyclopedias, though he was an integral part of Kirk's recordings in the '70s, which makes me reflect on all the other forgotten and overlooked musicians who live anonymously years after adding to our enjoyment of the music.
You can watch Joe rocking out with Rahsaan on "Volunteered Slavery" here.
1 comment:
when i was going to school in chicago, i walked into a record store & asked if they had anything by rahsaan roland kirk. the cat behind the counter was habao & he pointed me to the "bright moments" LP. we immediately became friends. later when i moved back to nj, i hear him w/ kirk on WRVR. i called the station & he also was living in nj. habao said that was the magic of rahsaan & that stuff like that always happened to him. my life was changed for the better thx to joe. he will be missed. jamal hayday
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