Jazz Articles about Nels Cline

The Nels Cline Singers: Initiate

by Mark Corroto
April 24, 2010

The release of the Nels Cline Singers 2-disc Initiate, a two hour-and-fifteen minute behemoth of sound, calls to mind a similar effort of 30 years ago, entitled Sandinista! (Epic, 1980) by the influential punk band turned prophets, The Clash. Like Mick Jones and Joe Strummer's 3-LP project, Cline's vision is too big to be encapsulated into a single genre or sound-byte blurb.

The guitarist Nels Cline, now famous as 'the sound' behind the rock band Wilco, was a ...

The Nels Cline Singers: Initiate

by Troy Collins
April 6, 2010

Called “The World's Most Dangerous Guitarist" by Jazz Times and named one of twenty “Guitar Gods" by Rolling Stone, Nels Cline's profile has expanded considerably since his collaborations with underground personalities like Thurston Moore and Mike Watt and recruitment by Wilco in 2004. Cline's roots in the West Coast jazz scene pre-date his newfound mainstream recognition however, dating back to the mid-1970s.

Initiate is the fourth release from The Nels Cline Singers, Cline's versatile ten-year old power trio ...

Nels Cline / G.E.Stinson: Elevating Device

by Ian Patterson
February 21, 2010

It is entirely appropriate that Sounds Are Active's fiftieth release since its inception in 1999 should be Elevating Device by Nels Cline and G.E. Stinson , two of the freer spirits of contemporary music. This recording, like much of the music from this label, provides challenging listening with music of a spirit unrestrained by convention and devoid of cliché, leading to a totally individualistic listening experience. Here, beauty and austerity slug it out without either one forcing the other into ...

Nels Cline: Coward

by AAJ Italy Staff
August 3, 2009

Non sappiamo a cosa faccia riferimento il titolo di questo album in perfetta solitudine del geniale chitarrista californiano Nels Cline. Di sicuro, questo fantasioso interprete della chitarra moderna non è un vigliacco. Anzi, si potrebbe dire che è un avventuriero sempre pieno di risorse e di energie che sembrano derivare dalla spiccata curiosità intellettuale che gli consente di aprire tutte le porte senza mai dovere chiedere scusa. L'album è decisamente variegato e si passa dal clima da tempesta elettronica che ...

Nels Cline: Acoustic Guitar Trio & Gauci/Cline/Filiano/Pride

by Clifford Allen
June 28, 2009

Acoustic Guitar Trio Vignes Long Song Records 2009 Stephen Gauci/Nels Cline/Ken Filiano/Mike Pride Red Feast Cadence Jazz Records 2009 Guitarist Nels Cline is so recognized as a force in contemporary music because he's not really a “force". In other words, his considerable technique, taste and penchant for cross-genre blurs don't always take the spotlight. ...

Nels Cline: Coward

by Stuart Broomer
May 12, 2009

Few guitarists cover the sheer range of Nels Cline, moving between genres from folk and rock, as a member of Wilco, to free jazz, with Vinny Golia and Gregg Bendian among others, to his own highly eclectic projects that impinge on all of these categories. Coward is a solo record, in the sense that it's the work of a single musician, but it rarely sounds that way, Cline building up many of the pieces with layers of ...

Nels Cline: Coward

by Troy Collins
February 22, 2009

Since being recruited by Wilco in 2004, guitarist Nels Cline has enjoyed a level of notoriety previously unimaginable for an avant-garde instrumentalist. Cline's career actually dates back to the late seventies, when seminal efforts with his twin brother percussionist Alex Cline, multi-instrumentalist Vinny Golia and bassist Eric von Essen cemented his reputation as a figurehead of the West Coast underground creative music scene.

Traversing multiple scenes, he has enjoyed a diverse career as a sideman to fellow iconoclasts ...