#cherryco

Cherry and Knuffke have much common subjectively. An abiding reverence for melody and modest mastery of their shared instrument, the cornet, represent cornerstones of their respective musical endeavors. Cherry’s gone, but his music lives on both in recorded form and the numerous musicians he continues to impact. Knuffke maintains a prolific pace with an embrace of a strategy that routinely involves placing his horn in diverse and unexpected contexts. This disc ends up no different as it pairs him with partners Jay Anderson and Adam Nussbaum, both of whom aren’t necessarily intuitive fits for circumstances, but bring a shared surplus of brio and expertise to the enterprise that’s instantly infectious.

Puckish as ever, Knuffke kicks the record off not with a predictable Cherry staple, but rather an homage that the elder cornetist penned in honor of another dedicatee, the late Ska saxophonist Roland Alfonso. Anderson and Nussbaum dig exuberantly into a rolling rocksteady rhythm and the leader blows a loquacious solo steeped in supple syncopation. Ornette Coleman is also amply on the docket starting with a rollicking rundown of “The Sphinx” that finds the players reveling in the sharp tempo shifts and tart diagonal exchanges that give the original its age-transcending viability. Tuneful yet unerringly adventurous, it’s just the sort of rendering Coleman would have almost certainly greeted with effusive appreciation.

“Lonely Woman” and “Art Deco” receive earnest and involving attention right alongside deep crate cuts like “Jayne” and “Paris Ambulance Song”. Knuffke’s nothing if not an equal opportunity interpreter and he accords his colleagues temporal space nearly commensurate with his own. Anderson’s solo improvisations on the middle two pieces are models of bull fiddle dexterity and Nussbaum’s seasoned sticks give each piece memorable rhythmic bite. “Golden Heart” and “Remembrance”, which in their original guises complete Cherry’s “Complete Communion” suite, point to a quick-to-manifest truth: Knuffke’s affinity for Cherry’s music is so extensive he could easily make it an ongoing corner of his discography if so inclined. While admittedly far from likely, this listener certainly wouldn’t mind.