The "Rah! Rah!" Band, led by NYC baritone saxophonist Claire Daly, is a remarkable combination of worldly musicians who are focusing their attention on the music and spirit of Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Claire utilizes alums from Rahsaan's bands whenever possible.

One of the great qualities of Rahsaan was his simultaneous inclusion of both the history and the future of music. He crossed all lines of style, mixing old tunes, originals and pop tunes without patronizing any of them. This is one of our goals. His life was the ultimate testimony to a jazz life, overcoming obstacles (including blindness) and making music constantly, on as many as 3 horns at once. An unstoppable force, Rahsaan continues to bring people together to celebrate life through the joy of sound. Bright Moments!

A five time winner of the Downbeat Critic's Poll "Talent Deserving Wider Recognition" and winner of the Jazz Journalist Association "Baritone Sax of the Year '05" category, Claire travels worldwide, performing as a bandleader and sideperson. Claire will tell you that her life changed on Sept. 23rd, 1971, when as a very (very) young girl, playing saxophone for 3 months, she heard a big band concert at the Westchester County Center. The saxophone section stood up for a soli, and Claire was on her chair screaming. After dragging her father to the stage door for autographs afterwards, she said of the Buddy Rich Band bus, "I'd do anything to be on that bus". It was the kind of epiphany that only young enthusiasm can breed, but enthusiasm is still the motivating force in her musical life. After attending the Berklee College of Music, she began an education of another kind -- making a living as a musician. Her career has included anchoring the sax section in the Diva Big Band for 7 yrs, freelancing in New York doing EVERY imaginable kind of gig (available on request!), recording 5 CDs with the brilliant, quirky composer/pianist Joel Forrester and their band "People Like Us", as well as two CDs as leader on Koch Jazz, ("Swing Low" and "Movin' On" now re-released on Dalybread Records) and a new release of her own called "Heaven Help Us All" (Dalybread Records). She has performed on numerous CDs, film scores, jingles, and of course in many festivals and venues.

She has backed up Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Joe Williams, and Rosemary Clooney among many others. Her missions in life have been to be an in demand baritonist in many styles, to Lead her own jazz groups, and to pass the gift of music on to the next generation.

In the fall of '05, Claire began a new long term project, touring the country playing gigs and tracking down some of the hidden treasures of the jazz world, interviewing them on video, planning an eventual documentary. In October '05, the William Jefferson Clinton Library in Little Rock, Ark. requested a copy of her first CD, Swing Low to be included in a listening station as a CD significant to the former president while in office.