Rip, Rig and Panic (album)

Rip, Rig and Panic
Studio album by
ReleasedDecember 1965 (1965-12)
RecordedJanuary 13, 1965
StudioVan Gelder Studio
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
GenreJazz
Length35:05
LabelLimelight
ProducerJack Tracy
Rahsaan Roland Kirk chronology
I Talk with the Spirits
(1965)
Rip, Rig and Panic
(1965)
Here Comes the Whistleman
(1965)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide

Rip, Rig and Panic is a 1965 jazz album by multi-instrumentalist 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 the work of Edgar Varèse, the compositions Poeme electronique and Ionisation, as inspiration for the album.

The album's title inspired the name for 1980s English post-punk group Rip Rig + Panic.