Nels Cline’s Forward-Thinking Jazz Is Superb
Trailblazing guitarist and Wilco secret weapon Nels Cline is back with a bracing new jazz quartet recording and joined by similarly forward-thinking musicians.
or over 20 years, guitar wizard Nels Cline has successfully straddled two slightly different, yet equally enviable musical lines. An accomplished guitarist in the punk, jazz, and experimental music worlds since the early 1980s, he was invited to join alt rock icons Wilco in 2004, in an intact, reshuffled lineup. While Wilco is the band that introduced him to a far wider audience, he is still churning out compelling experimental jazz recordings as a solo artist, with his latest, Consentrik Quartet, focusing on original material as part of an exciting four-piece combo.
On Consentrik Quartet, Cline is joined by tenor and soprano saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, bassist Chris Lightcap, and drummer Tom Rainey. As a solo artist, Cline tends to veer off in a variety of directions: he’s explored the cacophony of free jazz with drummer Gregg Bendian on their 1999 tribute to John Coltrane‘s Interstellar Space, delved into a chamber orchestra take on the Great American Songbook with the sumptuous Lovers, and split the difference with records like the eclectic Macroscope (credited to his prolific band the Nels Cline Singers).
With Consentrik Quartet, there’s something for everyone, although it leans heavily toward hard bop – a genre perfected by the Blue Note label on which the record appears. While Cline is credited with composing the album’s 12 tracks, the quartet does a splendid job of interpreting the music and its varying styles and tempi.
“The Returning Angel” opens the record with grace and a slight undercurrent of tension, with Cline’s steady guitar lines complementing Laubrock’s horns beautifully. But things get a little rowdier with the freewheeling syncopation of “The 23”, executed with a rock-like motion that includes plenty of generous soloing to keep it steadily in a jazz lane, followed by the even jazzier rhythms of “Surplus”.
Described in the press by Cline as a love letter to the Brooklyn improvised-music scene, Consentrik Quartet sees Cline and his three co-conspirators as continuously adventurous, moving effortlessly and imaginatively. There are floating, ethereal moments on tracks like the airy “Allende” and the mysterious “Inner Walls” (the latter seeing Cline implementing some haunting backwards guitar figures). However, there’s also a nihilistic energy to songs like “Satomi”, with a punk-like defiance in the riffs, before the ensemble shifts to a darker, more deliberate mood.
Other highlights include the slinky, playful “Down Close”, the raucous, lively, percussive vibe of “The Bag”, and the multifaceted, shapeshifting bop of “Slipping Into Something”. On the final track, “Time of No Sirens”, Cline and his trusty co-conspirators bring things to a relatively gentle conclusion, reminiscent of the warm swells of Lovers. However, the languid tempo is deceiving as the four musicians remained committed to bringing odd, unique bits of flavor to what might be drab or unimaginative in lesser hands.
Like many of the best musicians, Nels Cline approaches his music with a curious, imaginative, and energetic ear. Even when working in tried-and-true genres, he always pulls something fascinating out of his hat. With Consentrik Quartet, he’s joined by similarly forward-thinking musicians who can bring these intriguing ideas to light.