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Jazz Articles about Kirk Knuffke
James Brandon Lewis & Red Lily Quintet: Jesup Wagon
by Vic Albani
Erano anni che il jazz attendeva un lavoro come questo. Splendido nella totale sua interezza, capace di riportare “il jazz nel jazz" dopo tanti anni e tante nuove incisioni che i critici hanno valutato con attenzione e spesso incensate come lo sforzo creativo del guardare avanti, pur “rimanendo nobilmente avvinghiati alla tradizione" e via di conserva. Potremmo analizzare a lungo il jazz contemporaneo ma davanti a dischi come questo è ovvio riflettere e considerare ciò che in ...
Continue ReadingGunter Gruner: The Invisible Landscape
by Mike Jurkovic
An ardent student of no less a legend than Andrew Cyrille, drummer/composer Gunter Gruner's fondness for jumpy, adroit, noir landscapes comes with a decisively Pink Panther stroll: lanky, animated, wise-ass but humble. His side-street detours to survey The Invisible Landscape involve more than the usual walk down free-form lanes. With downtown, free-jazz giant Daniel Carter on sax reaching back to go further forward, Gruner's arrhythmic compositions involve the usual micro tonalities, fractured harmonics and head space, but never ...
Continue ReadingMatt Wilson Quartet: Hug!
by Jerome Wilson
A hug is something which is a distant memory for most of us these days. The warm and friendly vibes of this new Matt Wilson album could be thought of as a virtual hug, full of smile-inducing swing and raffish humor. Wilson's partners on this excursion are some of his usual cohorts, saxophonist Jeff Lederer, cornetist Kirk Knuffke and bassist Chris LIghtcap. As usual on Wilson's albums, they go through a mix of original tunes and eclectic covers. ...
Continue ReadingMatt Wilson: Hug!
by Jack Bowers
While there are a number of red-letter moments on drummer Matt Wilson's latest album, Hug!, and others that are rather less so, the earnestness is high throughout as everyone in Wilson's seasoned quartet does his best to ensure its success. That success, however, rests in part on the music itself, and therein lies the down side. As noted, there are definite highs--Abdullah Ibrahim's lively “Jabulani," Dewey Redman's sunny “Joie de Vivre," Roger Miller's charming “King of the ...
Continue ReadingMatt Wilson Quartet: Hug!
by Dan McClenaghan
Drummer Matt Wilson's quartet opens Hug! with Gene Ammons' “The One Before This." Saxophonist Ammons often used the tune as a showcase for tenor battles with fellow sax man Sonny Stitt. Wilson and company--featuring cornetist Kirk Knuffke, sax man Jeff Lederer and bassist Chris Lightcap--lay the sound down like a party. And this quartet parties hard. It feels like a rough-and-tumble affair, going down around midnight, when the alcohol has settled in, and the half hammered dancers are stumbling around ...
Continue ReadingAndrew D'Angelo: Andrew D'Angelo & DNA Orchestra
by Angelo Leonardi
Dopo quasi un decennio di attività, la DNA Orchestra di Andrew D'Angelo debutta con questo vulcanico album (al momento reperibile solo su Bandcamp) che raccoglie alcuni brani scritti dal leader e presentati in passati concerti. Dopo le drammatiche notizie del 2008 sulla salute del sassofonista (due interventi chirurgici per un tumore al cervello e una lunga terapia “alternativa" scelta da lui) fa piacere vederlo tornare in attività con quella forza d'urto che l'aveva imposto sulla scena di ...
Continue ReadingKirk Knuffke, Charles Lloyd, FIDOqrtet and More
by Maurice Hogue
This episode has several excellent contemporary trumpet/cornet/flugelhorn players scattered throughout the playlist: players like Brian Groder (new recording Luminous Arcs ), Dan Rosenboom, Kirk Knuffke, Nate Wooley (with Harris Eisenstadt), Ron Horton and Rob Mazurek (Chicago Underground Quartet). Those horns are staples of big bands too, so you'll hear plenty in the music from Sweden's Maluba Orchestra, the Webber-Morris Big Band and Satoko Fujii's Orchestra New York. Charles Lloyd's latest is sampled as well, and wait until you hear the ...
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