Jazz Articles about Alex Cline

The Boyé Multi-National Crusade For Harmony

by Stefano Merighi
April 16, 2021

Che trionfo per Julius Hemphill! A dispetto delle poche pagine--o righe--che le recenti storie del jazz dedicano al maestro di Fort Worth, Hemphill emerge da questo cofanetto di inediti come sassofonista-improvvisatore-compositore tra i più profondi della musica afroamericana nei decenni compresi tra gli anni '70 e '90. E questa preziosa edizione non solo torna a far luce su repertori e organici già conosciuti dai cultori, ma porta in superficie una gran mole di musica fresca, sorprendente, che ...

Julius Hemphill: The Boyé Multi-National Crusade For Harmony

by Mark Corroto
April 3, 2021

There is something inherently objectionable when a billionaire acquires an artistic masterpiece by say, Leonardo DaVinci or Claude Monet, only to sequester it from public view. You might feel the same about Julius Hemphill's recordings Dogon A.D. (Mbari, 1972) and 'Coon Bid'ness (Arista/Freedom, 1975). Both five star recordings, now out of print, cost a small fortune to acquire. Years ago saxophonist Tim Berne, a disciple of Hemphill, endeavored to rescue the saxophonist's Blue Boyé (Mbari, 1977) by rereleasing it in ...

George McMullen Trio: Boomerang.

by Maurizio Zerbo
May 17, 2019

É tanto affascinante la sonorità scura del trombone, quanto sempre più rari i musicisti che ci si dedicano. È pertanto degno di attenzione questo bel cd di George McMullen, più volte vincitore di un Grammy Awards. Insieme a quattro libere improvvisazioni, sette composizioni originali del leader impreziosiscono le vorticose trame di una avvincente proposta, in bilico tra jazz d'avanguardia e mainstream d'altissimo livello. Contrabbasso e batteria provvedono ad una straordinaria poliritmia, che esalta la zigzagante frammentazione nel fraseggio del trombonista ...

Nels and Alex Cline at The Jazz Bakery

by Jonathan Manning
January 22, 2018

Nels Cline / Alex Cline Jazz Bakery (Moss Theater) Santa Monica, CA January 13, 2018 Nine years ago, Nels and Alex Cline played live as a duo for only the third time ever. On January 13, just nine days after their collective 62nd birthday, they made it the fourth. The brothers Cline performed together at the Moss Theater in Santa Monica, near where they grew up. The event was partly instigated by ...

Alex Cline's Flower Garland Orchestra: Oceans of Vows

by Angelo Leonardi
November 6, 2017

Un lavoro singolare e affascinante. Grazie a un finanziamento della Shifting Foundation Alex Cline ha scritto e registrato un'ambiziosa suite, che si presenta in un doppio compact di raffinata eleganza. Due ore di musica ispirate all'Avatamsaka Sutra (in inglese Flower Garland Sutra), uno dei massimi testi della tradizione buddhista e a versi del monaco vietnamita Thich Nhat Hanh. Estratti di queste opere vengono recitati all'interno di alcune esecuzioni strumentali. L'organico che esegue è composto da 13 musicisti diretti ...

Alex Cline's Flower Garland Orchestra: Oceans of Vows

by John Kelman
March 23, 2017

Despite being a key participant in the “Left Coast" scene of more avant-leaning music from the American west coast--in particular, part of the Cryptogramophone imprint that, while less active than in its “glory days" during the first years of the new millennium--Alex Cline releases so infrequently as a leader that any new music from the percussionist/composer is worthy of attention. That he has flown so far under the radar, in recent years, that his last Cryptogramophone release, 2013's For People ...

Alex Cline: Free-Spirited Drummer

by R.J. DeLuke
March 9, 2009

West coast drummer/percussionist Alex Cline is a sensitive player with a strong feel for interesting harmonies, shifting voices and changing moods when he writes music. It's a sensitivity not usually associated with drummers. But what's inside Cline, and comes through in his music, is from an artist and a musician, not merely a drummer.

He plays mainstream jazz gigs, but after his rock-influenced youth, he gravitated, almost by fate, to the free-form improvisers, getting his first ...