John Medeski and Kirk Knuffke ’ The Angelic Brothers’ at Miller Theatre at Columbia University School of the Arts, New York City, USA.

Date: Saturday, February 07, 2026

More details

We have received the following press release regarding this event;

Miller Theatre at Columbia University School of the Arts continues its 2025-26 Jazz series with;

John Medeski and Kirk Knuffke
The Angelic Brothers
The masterful duo joins forces for music inspired by the Sun Ra Arkestra
Saturday, February 7, 7:30PM
Miller Theatre (2960 Broadway at 116th Street)
Tickets starting at $25; Students with valid ID starting at $10

Saturday, February 7, 2025, 7:30PM
John Medeski and Kirk Knuffke
The Angelic Brothers
Legendary keyboardist John Medeski and acclaimed cornetist Kirk Knuffke join forces as The Angelic Brothers, a masterful collaboration that mixes jazz, experimental sounds, and improvisation—drawing inspiration from the visionary work of the Sun Ra Arkestra. Their first Miller appearance promises an electrifying fusion of craft and invention.
Artists:
John Medeski, piano
Kirk Knuffke, cornet

John Medeski, piano
http://www.johnmedeski.com
Equally comfortable behind a Steinway grand piano, a Hammond organ, or any number of vintage keyboards, John Medeski is a highly sought-after improviser and bandleader whose projects range from work with John Zorn, The Word (Robert Randolph, North Mississippi Allstars), Phil Lesh, Don Was, John Scofield, Coheed and Cambria, Susana Baca, Sean Lennon, Marc Ribot, Irma Thomas, the Blind Boys of Alabama, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and many others. Classically trained, Medeski grew up in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, where as a teenager he played with Jaco Pastorius before heading north to attend the New England Conservatory. He released his first solo piano record, A Different Time, on Sony’s Okeh Records in 2013, and current projects include a new album in the works with his band MadSkillet (Terrence Higgins, Kirk Joseph, Will Bernard), and HUDSON (a collaboration with Jack DeJohnette, John Scofield, and Larry Grenadier), and a documentary on Medeski Martin & Wood.

Kirk Knuffke, cornet
http://www.kirkknuffke.com
A prolific, lauded record-maker, cornetist-composer Kirk Knuffke has made over twenty albums as a leader or co-leader over the past two decades. His 2022 release, Gravity Without Airs (TAO Forms) with pianist Matthew Shipp and bassist Michael Bisio, earned a review of 4 ½ stars from DownBeat magazine as well as a critic’s playlist pick in The New York Times. As an in-demand sideman, Knuffke tours and records with some of today’s leading jazz musicians, from vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant and guitarist Mary Halvorson to drummer Matt Wilson and saxophonist James Brandon Lewis. He has also performed with Tootie Heath, Frank Kimbrough, Karl Berger, Myra Melford, Billy Hart, and William Parker, among others. Knuffke is an ongoing member of the Matt Wilson Quartet, drummer Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom sextet, and guitarist Charlie Hunter’s Quartet. A recent highlight of the cornetist’s discography as a leader is Brightness: Live in Amsterdam (Royal Potato Family, 2020), which included his hip, soulful vocals. Praise for Knuffke’s earlier work includes NPR’s Jazz Album of the Year Cherryco (SteepleChase, 2017), his homage to Don Cherry. He has been recognized with a Jerome Foundation Composers Grant, a second-place ranking in Europe’s El Intruso Critics Poll for trumpet (2016), and as a “Rising Star” in the DownBeat Critics Poll (2015).

QUOTES:

“...beauty, melancholy, and a dash of impressionism merge in Medeski’s hands…”
— All About Jazz

“Kirk Knuffke is a true individual whose playing is both searching and expansive. Seems he’s always up to something new and never fails to surprise.”
— Mary Halvorson

About Miller Theatre
http://www.millertheatre.com
One of New York City’s most vital music venues, Miller Theatre at Columbia University is a thriving home for contemporary and early music that serves audiences, composers, and musicians. Founded in 1988, Miller’s mission is to develop new audiences; foster enthusiasm for the arts by pioneering new programming approaches; educate the public by presenting specialized programs to a broad audience; discover diverse repertoire and commission new works; and share the University’s intellectual riches with the public. Led by Executive Director Melissa Smey, Miller Theatre sparks engagement and personal connections to music through distinctive live performances and is deeply committed to fostering collaborative relationships with the composers and musicians who make this possible.

Miller Theatre’s 2025-26 Season is supported by The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, and the Howard and Sarah D. Solomon Foundation.

Support for contemporary music at Miller Theatre is provided by the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, the Amphion Foundation, and the Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Program with funding from the Chamber Music America Endowment Fund.

Columbia University’s Miller Theatre is located north of the Main Campus Gate at 116th St. & Broadway on the ground floor of Dodge Hall.

Directions and information are available online at http://www.millertheatre.com  or via the Miller Theatre Box Office, at 212/854-7799.