Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Michael Bisio - Kirk Knuffke - Fred Lonberg-Holm: The Art Spirit

Michael Bisio - Kirk Knuffke - Fred Lonberg-Holm: The Art Spirit

By Mark Corroto
July 11, 2021
View read count

Michael Bisio - Kirk Knuffke - Fred Lonberg-Holm: The Art Spirit

If you thought Requiem For A New York Slice (Iluso Records, 2019) from bassist Michael Bisio, cornetist Kirk Knuffke, and cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm was a one-off recording, you were mistaken, and thankfully so. Interestingly enough, The Art Spirit was actually recorded a couple weeks before Requiem and it is the continuation of a beautiful relationship begun with the Bisio-Knuffke duo session Row For William O. (Relative Pitch Records, 2016). Housekeeping aside, these three musicians are making magic here.

Of the eight tracks, three were composed by Bisio and the others were improvised. Nevertheless, it is quite impossible to distinguish the composed from the improvised because of the simpatico nature of these musicians. Those familiar with Bisio's work with Matthew Shipp, Knuffke with Matt Wilson or Lonberg-Holm with Peter Brötzmann recognize the accommodating temperament each possesses. The best example may be the longest track, the improvised eleven-plus minutes of "Both Keys Belong To You" which matches Bisio's pizzicato bass against Lonberg-Holm's slashing cello and Knuffke's well-placed cornet melodies. The track proceeds into a swirling arco dance of the stringed instruments that push the cornetist higher and higher. Much of the music sounds as if our three travelers are approaching an entrance and each saying, "after you," "no, after you," and "I insist, after you." Highlights include "Use Them," which opens with the plaintive cry of Knuffke's cornet before an onslaught of plucked and bowed notes, and "Like Your Work As Much As" and "A Dog Likes To Gnaw A Bone," both beginning with a fluid groove before Lonberg-Holm utilizes electronics to augment his cello. While Bisio powers the trio, Knuffke's horn acts as a booster rocket.

Track Listing

Not A Souvenir Of Yesterday; r. henri; Both Keys Belong To You; Use Them; Orange Moon Yellow Field; Things Hum; Like Your Work As Much As; A Dog Likes To Gnaw A Bone.

Personnel

Michael Bisio

bass, acoustic

Kirk Knuffke

trumpet

Fred Lonberg-Holm

cello

Album information

Title: The Art Spirit | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: ESP Disk

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Diana Krall & Marty Elkins
< Previous

Wilburt Lee Reliford and Nic Clark: ...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.