Kirk Knuffke
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 /TiVo
Discography
32 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Near the Pond
Josefine Cronholm, Kirk Knuffke, Thommy Andersson
Jazz - Released by Stunt Records on 26 Mar 2021
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Brightness: Live in Amsterdam (Live)
Jazz - Released by Royal Potato Family on 21 Feb 2020
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
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Heart is a Melody
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Stunt Records on 18 Nov 2022
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
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'S Wonderful
Per Møllehøj, Kirk Knuffke, Thommy Andersson
Jazz - Released by Stunt Records on 14 Jan 2022
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
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Arms & Hands
Jazz - Released by The Royal Potato Family on 7 Apr 2015
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
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Universal Language Quartet - Always Into It
Kirk Knuffke, Thommy Andersson, Martin Maretti Andersen
Jazz - Released by Mingus Records on 9 Feb 2024
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
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The Horns Band
Jazz - Released by Fresh Sound New Talent on 23 Jun 2014
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
I Sang
Josefine Cronholm, Kirk Knuffke, Thommy Andersson
Jazz - Released by Stunt Records on 26 Feb 2021
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
A little more so
Thommy Andersson, Kirk Knuffke
Jazz - Released by Gateway Music on 12 Apr 2024
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
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The Mob, The Crowd, The Mass (Live)
Jazz - Released by Royal Potato Family on 20 Dec 2019
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Noble Heart
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Stunt - Sundance Records on 28 Oct 2022
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
The Invisible Trio
Jazz - Released by Fresh Sound New Talent on 13 Apr 2009
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Heart is a Melody of Time
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Stunt Records on 7 Oct 2022
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
First Draft
Per Møllehøj, Kirk Knuffke, Thommy Andersson
Jazz - Released by Stunt Records on 17 Dec 2021
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo