American independent label Tao Forms has released music of consistently high quality over the past few years and this double CD by Kirk Knuffke maintains the record in no uncertain terms. Playing one of the common ‘early jazz’ instruments, the cornet, Knuffke displays notable skill as both a composer and improviser who is able to make music of deep introspection and explosive exuberance in forms that are both ‘straight’ and abstract. As the title Gravity Without Airs suggests there is an astute exploration of what ‘heavy’ could denote in sentiment, but maybe in sound too. Think music that lacks pretention but is nonetheless made with serious intent. With pianist Mathew Shipp and double bassist Michael Bisio as accompanists, Knuffke has a framework that can be startlingly dense, to the extent that the combined effect of the former’s mountainous block chords and the latter’s howl-like arco is practically symphonic at times, creating a vast, valley-like audio image far beyond the supposed scope of a drummer-less trio. Knuffke’s own weight of tone and dynamic jolts in phrasing enhance this impression. Yet there is a pleasing stealth in many places, which reveal a command of swing and bebop vocabulary within the leader’s leaning to the avant-garde. The title track sums this up perfectly, by way of a deliciously fleeting scramble of Sonny Rollins’ ‘Oleo’ in the midst of a ballad that jockeys between containment and flourish, stillness and speed, as if the players wanted to run rather than take a blues walk to an engaging emotional climax.

This is structurally inventive and emotionally articulate music by a band of certified major talents who create a singular collective energy that does not constrain each strong individual.