Young talented trumpet player and composer from New York Kirk Knuffke has released several albums so far. This session was recorded live at Roulette in 2009 and presents a great trio of great musicians playing at their best. We love this recording and hope you will enjoy it as much as we do.
NoBusiness Records NBLP 17, 2010, edition of 300 records
Ken Waxman
More than a musical mouthful, this session led by trumpeter Kirk Knuffke is an apt demonstration of unselfish trio interaction. The result of a Jerome Foundation composers grant, the nine compositions, recorded live at Roulette, flow seamlessly into one another. There’s no fear of starvation here. Just as Knuffke is known for his work with drummer Matt Wilson and Ideal Bread, drummer Kenny Wollesen has spiced up dates for players as different as pianist Myra Melford and saxist John Zorn. And if sonic sustenance is needed, bassist Lisle Ellis has previously expanded the menus of multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, among others. Ellis is a sympathetic sous-chef, voicing guitarlike twangs, steady walking or percussive thumps to showcase better Knuffke’s improvisational qualities. Equal assistance is available from Wollesen, who eschews a heavy hand when rhythmically flavoring. Responding to this nutritious diet, Knuffke’s appetizers include grace note articulation, widelyspaced rubato runs and echoing lines with lyrical flute-like qualities. In a couple of instances his main courses are presented a capella - carefully breathed grace notes, harsh bugle-like timbres or a gorgeous restrained fanfare that initially strains in a high register then modulates to more comfortable slurred echoes, amply complemented by thick stops from Ellis and Wollesen’s rolls and pops. To mix metaphors again, this disc is a sumptuous feast that gives you plenty to chew on while also providing plenty of food for thought.
