REQUIEM FOR JACK KIRBY: Gregg Bendian’s Interzone (2001)

The visual realm has always inspired my musical life. As a boy, my imagination was fired by the world of comic book super heroes and villains, alien worlds and futuristic technologies, all involved in conflict on a galactic scale. Those vivid and uniquely personal universes created by artist and visionary Jack Kirby had a huge impact on my own artistic vision, of music. Kirby’s energy blasts and intricate machinery, events, all instilled in me a sense of wonder at his limitless imagination and the creation of possible worlds. 

The man had serious chops. Jack’s influence on a generation of visual artists is far-reaching.  He has profoundly affected Federico Fellini, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas (a-hem), Ridley Scott, and Steven Spielberg. Other musicians who sing his praises include saxophone colossus Sonny Rollins, Yes’ vocalist Jon Anderson, and Beatle, Sir Paul McCartney. 

Jack grew up on the Lower East Side of New York City in the 1920s. He started weaving his visual magic back in the late 1930s, at the dawn of the comic book industry. By the late 1960s (during the Marvel Age of Comics) he had co-created what have become comic world mainstays and cultural icons such as The Avengers, Iron Man, The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, The Hulk, Silver Surfer, Thor, and many, many more.

In 1971, late in his career and at a time when no one else had attempted such a thing in comic book form, Kirby struck out on his own to single-handedly write, draw, and edit three interlocking books on an epic scale: New Gods, The Forever People, and Mister Miracle. Here, more than ever, his work reaches far beyond its so-called “pop culture” medium, achieving a complex high art where men struggle for identity and mankind battles against evil, for its very soul. Check out all of Jack’s work, but note that these three interlocking titles (which constitute “The Fourth World”) now exist in easy to find collected editions. I treasure this, Jack’s magnum opus as purest Kirby - his most profound and personal statement. 

I offer this Requiem for Jack Kirby with respect, admiration and gratitude, in memory of the man who made me a true believer, and who inspired me to create music my own way - truly one of the most important artists of the 20th Century - Jack “The King” Kirby! 

Gregg Bendian, Spring 2001

REQUIEM FOR A REQUIEM + INTERZONE LIVE 

I feel quite fortunate to be able to share audio evidence of a rather inspired run of dates I played exactly twenty years ago with my band Interzone, featuring Nels Cline, Alex Cline, and Kermit Driscoll, on a tour celebrating the release of my hot-off-the-presses new album, REQUIEM FOR JACK KIRBY. 

This, the third Interzone release, was my paean to the man who co-created (along with Stan Lee) about 75% of the Marvel Comics Universe and a good chunk of the DC Universe. Jack Kirby’s art inspired me as a youngster to live within the wilds of my imagination, joining sound and image via an intense synesthesia, and thus becoming a believer in my own place within the creative world of music and art. 

The original CD artifact of this tribute to Kirby was resplendent with his original artwork culled from his Fourth World series. The CD cover, back cover, disc face, and pull-out poster each sport striking Kirby pages from his early 70s titles. The Requiem was meant to be as much a visual feast as it was a sonic and intellectual one, and being able to clothe this musical object in Kirby's actual imagery was truly a gift from the gods. We hope you will download and enjoy the images as you listen. Or, take out any Kirby work you happen to favor - there’s tons to choose from. 

Back in September of 2001, after but a few rehearsals, Interzone began the "Requiem for Jack Kirby Tour" in NYC at The Knitting Factory, just days after, and mere blocks from the events of 9/11/01. Although, nervous about possible ongoing future "events" we went ahead with the tour with not a small sense of foreboding, and more than a little bit of feeling that playing music when the stakes are high was, in itself, a therapy and a catharsis. On our way to that first show of the tour, we had to be searched as we passed through police checkpoints to get below Canal Street in order to reach the venue. We also hit Philly, Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Buffalo, and Rochester, followed by a string of West Coast dates with Joel Hamilton, the wonderful bassist on our original studio recording.

By the time Interzone reached Michigan after two weeks on the road, we were a bit of a well-oiled machine. The Clines and I had been playing and recording together quite happily since 1995, in both Interzone and duet settings (ie: Interstellar Space Revisited and ESPiritu). It’s difficult for me to think of any two other musicians which I have more of a musical connection with.

Interzone’s line-up changed infrequently, apart from the bass chair. Alex once told me that he counted about nine different bass players in the band over the years, and I'd like to mention some of them here: Mark Dresser, Steuart Liebig, Stomu Takeshi, Mike Elizondo, Scott Walton, Bertram Turetsky, and Mark Helias. Each brought something unique to the Interzone brew. On the “Requiem for Jack Kirby Tour,” with the multi-faceted Kermit Driscoll in tow, we had another vital musical partner in that foundational role. Kermit nailed all of my written parts, and was a dream at listening, following, and setting up platforms for me and ClineBroCo. to go about our rollicking business. 

The band was firing on all cylinders. On most shows, we performed the entire “Requiem,” followed by a set of tunes from the first two Interzone albums. As always, transitions from improvised to composed sections and back again were a particular point of pride for us Interzonians, and there are some incredible moments of spontaneous interaction and straight-up groupthink/mind-reading here which, while listening two decades later, even took me by surprise! 

Looking back twenty years, it’s fun, albeit a little strange for me to ponder how public consciousness about Jack Kirby and Comic Book Geekdom has evolved. Neither was at all in fashion back then, and maybe that's how, thanks to the energy, enthusiasm, and comic industry connections of Mr. Duncan Rouleau, we could muster the forces of comic book greats, Stan Lee, Jim Steranko, Steve Gerber, and Mark Evanier, who wrote their own tributes to Jack for the album's liner notes, a huge assist in helping me to put that labor of love for "The King" all together, forging a 21st Century statement about an artist who began making comic books cool in the first half of the 20th century. Way back in 2001, we certainly never could have imagined that comic book characters would take over Hollywood and become a billion dollar industry in the way that they have. And so, the now out-of-print "Requiem" CD is considered a collector's item among jazz and comic book fans alike. That makes make me smile. We hereby offer you another look and another listen. 

With all the uncertainty and apprehension we lived with at that moment in our history, comic books and the music raised us above the fray for a couple of hours each night. I hope that in our current moment of uncertainty, these recordings might offer us much of the same.  

Thanks for listening and, 

“Long Live The King!” 

GREGG BENDIAN, September 2021