A film by Adam Kahan

"We hope you stay on the case. Don't get inside the case 'cause if you get inside the case, they'll shut the case up on you and you'll never get out again." — Rahsaan Roland Kirk

Rahsaan Roland Kirk was a one-of-a-kind musician, personality, satirist, and windmill-slayer who despite being blind, becoming paralyzed, and facing America's racial injustices—did not relent. His life's work was exploring sound and making music. Beyond that, he was an outspoken activist who started a political movement to get more exposure for Jazz in America—particularly on TV.

Dreams were important to Rahsaan. They planted the seed in his mind to play three horns simultaneously. His name came from dreams. When asked about his religious beliefs, he would say: "I'm from the Religion of Dreams".

At the age of 40, at the apex of his career, Rahsaan suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed. Despite this, he continued to tour and play music, with the use of only one hand, literally until the day he died.

The title of Kahan's film references a specific album of Kirk's:

The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color was a unique album in jazz and popular music recorded annals. It was a two-LP set, with Side 4 apparently "blank", the label not indicating any content. However, once word of "the secret message" got around among Rahsaan's fans, one would find that about 12 minutes into Side 4 appeared the first of two telephone answering machine messages recorded by Kirk, the second following soon thereafter (but separated by more blank grooves). The surprise impact of these segments appearing on "blank" Side 4 was lost on the CD reissue of this album." — Wikipedia

About the Director:
Adam Kahan is a filmmaker living in Brooklyn, New York. He started making films in 1989 in San Francisco, when he bought his first Super 8 camera. His first short film to get notice was Eyeball, which played the San Francisco Film Arts Foundation festival in 1992, and other festivals in the states and abroad. Adam works across multiple genres from documentary to narrative to experimental, and has worn multiple hats including Director, Producer and Editor. He has also made several short documentaries on contemporary artists that have played on national television and in festivals internationally. The Case of the Three Sided Dream is his first feature.