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Cornetist and composer
Kirk Knuffke is an adventurous performer with an ear for navigating avant-garde sessions as well as post-bop dates.
Knuffke initially drew listeners' attention playing with
Butch Morris in the mid-2000s, and has worked with similarly inventive artists including
Uri Caine,
Allison Miller, and
Michael Formanek. A recipient of a Jerome Foundation composers grant,
Knuffke has received praise for his own albums, like 2008's small group date
Big Wig and 2011's duo recording Orange Was the Color. He has also released a bevy of trio albums, including 2015's
Little Cross with
Hamid Drake, 2017's
Cherryco with
Adam Nussbaum, and 2022's
Gravity Without Airs with
Matthew Shipp, all of which display his broad stylistic influences, touching upon bluesy swing and edgy free improvisation.
A native of Colorado,
Knuffke studied with trumpeter
Ron Miles and pianist
Art Lande before relocating to New York City in 2005. Since that time, he has earned a reputation as both an in-demand sideman and bandleader, having performed with such artists as
Roswell Rudd,
William Parker,
Uri Caine,
Myra Melford,
John Zorn,
Dave Douglas,
Billy Hart,
Steven Bernstein,
Jon Irabagon, and many others. He is a veteran member of several of
Butch Morris' ensembles, having played on 2007's
Nublu Orchestra Conducted by Butch Morris. He also performs regularly as a member of both drummer
Matt Wilson's quartet and the
Steve Lacy tribute ensemble
Ideal Bread.
As a solo artist,
Knuffke made his debut with 2008's
Big Wig, which found him playing a mix of free jazz and more bop-oriented songs alongside trombonist
Brian Drye, bassist
Reuben Radding, and drummer Jeff Davis. He followed up with 2009's
Garden of Gifts, a trio album with drummer
Federico Ughi and guitarist
Chris Welcome.
Amnesia Brown, with clarinetist and guitarist
Doug Wieselman and drummer
Kenny Wollesen, appeared in 2010, followed by 2014's Exterminating Angel. He also has an ongoing duo project with pianist
Jesse Stacken in which they explore the more obscure works by legendary jazz composers, such as the
Thelonious Monk- and
Duke Ellington-themed Mockingbird (2009) and the
Charles Mingus-themed Orange Was the Color (2011).
In 2015,
Knuffke joined drummer
Hamid Drake and keyboardist
Jamie Saft for
Little Cross. That same year, he won Down Beat's Rising Star critics poll. He also delivered a second trio album,
Arms & Hands, which featured bassist
Mark Helias and drummer
Bill Goodwin. A year later, he joined drummer
Allison Miller's Boom Tic Boom for Otis Was a Polar Bear, and reunited with
Wilson for Beginning of a Memory.
Cherryco, a trio effort with bassist
Jay Anderson and drummer
Adam Nussbaum, arrived in 2017. 2022's
Gravity Without Airs also found
Knuffke leading a trio, this time with veteran pianist
Matthew Shipp and bassist
Michael Bisio. ~ Matt Collar