His relationship with New Orleans is actually somewhat fleeting, in terms of both the city and the jazz originating from there. Kirk was actually raised upriver in St. Louis, where his early professional background consisted of playing in theater orchestras. He joined the Dewey Jackson band in 1930 and was soon associated with Fate Marable as well as the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra. In the early '40s, Kirk spent time with well-known bandleaders whose recording sessions would provide mounds of discographical debris, including Don Redman, Claude Hopkins, and Noble Sissle. In the '60s, Kirk drummed regularly with Wilbur DeParis, including a 1960 tour of the African continent. Discographer Tom Lord pinpoints Kirk's final recording activity as taking place in 1973. A Jazz Classics video entitled #Harlem Harmonies, Vol. 1 features footage of Kirk performing with Sissle. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi