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Kirk Knuffke / Federico Ughi / Chris Welcome: Garden Of Gifts

By Mark Corroto
July 13, 2009
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Kirk Knuffke / Federico Ughi / Chris Welcome: Garden Of Gifts

There are no signposts to direct towards great free improvisation recordings, because there are no scenic overlooks where it's possible to pull over and take a snapshot or buy a postcard before heading to the next tourist attraction. To take in a recording such as Garden Of Gifts, it's necessary to stand back and take in the whole—the same way the Grand Canyon has to be viewed.

Garden Of Gifts was recorded in May at drummer Federico Ughi's house in Brooklyn. Born in Italy, Ughi moved to the US in 1999 and has been a best known for his work with the likes of Daniel Carter, Steve Swell, William Parker and Ras Moshe. His playing partners are up-and-coming improvisers trumpeter Kirk Knuffke and guitarist Chris Welcome. Knuffke's quartet released Bigwig (Clean Feed, 2008) to positive reviews and the versatile musician has worked with both the avant-garde Lawrence "Butch" Morris and pop star Josh Ritter.

The music mushrooms from organic and simple parts. All four tracks ease into meaning, with Ughi setting the scene. Much of the territory explored is without a constant pulse or rhythm. And each track unfurls without sounding rushed, mostly spare affairs with seemingly no space needing to be filled with extra notes. The drummer appears to guide this outing through its mystical paths. Not one single moment is chosen as a pinnacle, but the bent guitar notes, slurred trumpet passages and cymbal tracings give the recording very rich textures.

Track Listing

In The Vernacular; Gratitude Time; Fall Expanded; Inner Void.

Personnel

Kirk Knuffke

trumpet

Kirk Knuffke: trumpet; Federico Ughi: drums, percussion, flute; Chris Welcome: guitar.

Album information

Title: Garden Of Gifts | Year Released: 2009 | Record Label: 577 Records

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