Podcast 917: A Conversation with Kirk Knuffke (Part Two)

Straight No Chaser - A Jazz Show

In the previous podcast, Kirk Knuffke discussed the making of his trio album, Gravity Without Airs, with pianist Matthew Shipp and bassist Michael Bisio. Part Two of my conversation with Kirk Knuffke begins with a chance for him to look back at some of the great talent he has worked with or learned under. While he has played and recorded with the likes of Roswell Rudd, Marshall Allen, Tootie Heath, Frank Kimbrough, William Parker, Myra Melford, Billy Hart and Ben Allison, we discussed three other players in some detail.

Kirk has been a member of the Matt Wilson Quartet for more than a dozen years and he shares his insight into Matt’s unique talents and wonderful sense of humor. Wilson has been a guest several times on the show, and I have found him one of the most personable and engaging artists in jazz today.

Knuffke also has recorded with Matt to make up the trio that recorded Mary Halvorson’s Sifter in 2013. Kirk has a fondness for working with guitarists, and Halvorson and Charlie Hunter are two of the finest he has spent time backing. His time with the extraordinary Hunter included the release of one of the best album titles I can recall, Everybody Has a Plan Until They Get Punched in the Mouth.

Knuffke remembers one of his great teachers and friends, fellow Coloradan and cornetist Ron Miles, who passed away in March., and shares a number of stories about the influence Miles had on his playing. Kirk also shares insight into how he decided to play jazz. We'll also discuss the release of several projects he has been working on over the past year, and rest assured, they are many and varied.

Musical selections in the Podcast include “How Ya Going” from the Matt Wilson Quartet’s release with pianist John Medeski, Gathering Call, and “We Don’t Want Nobody Nobody Sent,” a bluesy number from Charlie Hunter’s Everybody Has a Plan Until They Get Punched in the Mouth.