Nels Cline
(Copyright © 1999 Piero Scaruffi | Legal restrictions - Termini d'uso )
Silencer , 6/10
Ground , 6/10
Chest , 7/10
Sad , 6/10
Ebbie Flowers , 6/10
The Inkling , 7/10
Interstellar Space Revisited , 5/10
Destroy All Nels Cline , 6/10
L. Stinkbug: The Allure Of Roadside Curios , 6/10
Instrumentals , 6.5/10
The Giant Pin (2004), 6/10
Draw Breath (2007), 6.5/10 		Links:
Nels Cline (Los Angeles, 1956) e` venuto alla ribalta della scena rock quando (1997) si e` unito ai Geraldine Fibbers, ma era attivo da anni nel mondo dell'avanguardia jazz (undici anni nel Quartet Music, collarazioni con Vinny Golia, Charlie Haden e Julius Hemphill). Il suo primo disco fu Elegies (september 1980 - 9 Winds, 1980), duetti con il bassista Eric Von Essen. I Quartet Music registrarono Quartet Music (march 1980 - 9 Winds, 1981), Ocean Park (january 1984), Window On The Lake (september 1986 - 9 Winds, 1986), Summer Night (august 1988 - Delos, 1989). A proprio nome usci` Angelica (august 1987 - Enja, 1988), featuring saxophonist Tim Berne, Von Essen, drummer Alex Cline and trumpeter Stacey Rowles. Con il complesso Bloc venne registrato In The Free Zone (A&M, 1991).

Il Nels Cline Trio nacque a Los Angeles nel 1990. Silencer (december 1990 - Enja, 1992) presenta un sound schizofrenico, a meta` strada fra la Jimi Hendrix Experience, l'End of The Game di Peter Green, gli esperimenti chitarristici di Bill Frisell e il jazz-rock di Sonny Sharrock e John Scofield. Lapsing e Silencer, soprattutto, mettono in mostro una nevrosi che e` piu` rock che jazz.

Cline si conquista la fama soprattutto con una serie di singoli altamente sperimentali, fra cui Lady Speed Stick/ Rumpus Room/ Showbiz Casualty (Forced Exposure, 1992) e Beardism/ WDTCH/ The Rite (Father Yod, 1993), al quale collabora Mike Watt (che Cline a sua volta accompagnera` sui suoi dischi solisti).

Ground (november 1993 - Krown Pocket, 1995), registrato dal vivo, e` un disco di transizione, in cui Cline sembra incerto se proporsi come il John McLaughlin del rock o il Thurston Moore del jazz. Ne risulta una raccolta eclettica che spazia dall'hard-rock di Beer Bottle Collection alla ballad Divine Homegirl. Cline vi sfoga soprattutto il suo amore per il rock alternativo, per complessi alternativi come Polvo e Sonic Youth.

Chest (june 1993 - Little Brother, 1996) del Trio e` forse il suo primo disco davvero maturo. Cline ha trovato una voce davvero personale. E` il disco di un chitarrista jazz, ma sembra il disco (senza parole) di un cantautore alla Smog o Magnetic Fields.

Dopo aver collaborato anche con Thurston Moore su Pillow Wand: (december 1996), Wayne Kramer e innumerevoli jazzisti, Cline registra il nuovo disco del suo Trio, Sad (july 1997 - Little Brother, 1998). Arrows tenta di ripetere la magia dell'album precedente e Where Is Your Woman si riallaccia alle "canzoni" atmosferiche del disco di debutto.

Edible Flowers (february 1998 - WIN, 1999), una collaborazione con il bassista Devin "Crib" Sarno, sembra reinventarne la carriera attraverso lunghe trance per toni ipnotici.

Los Angeles-based guitarist Nels Cline formed a trio to bridge rock and jazz in a fashion similar to what done by Bill Frisell on albums such as Chest (1996), but it was The Inkling (may 1999), recorded by a quartet (with Zena Parkins on harp), that showed how to redefine fusion in the age of post-rock.
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The Inkling (may 1999 - Cryptogramophone, 2000), recorded by a quartet of Cline, Zena Parkins (harp), Mark Dresser (bass) and Billy Mintz (drums), is a majestic effort to bridge jazz and rock in the age of post-rock. Rather than the traditional "fusion" sound, Cline aims for angular and fractured rock songs (New Old Hat, Queen Of Angels, Spider Wisdom). While he is at it, Cline also goes for a sort of ambient, static, minimalistic "jamming" in the mesmerizing track Lullaby For Ian. Cork Farm and Circular are more conventional free-jazz dialogues. The collaboration peaks with Alstromeria, one of his extended pieces that displays both his playing and his compositional skills. Cline's relatively pensive, relaxed, meditational tone on this album marks a "growing up" of sort: the creative fury of his early albums is now channeled in atmospheric, textural, psychological counterpoint.

Interstellar Space Revisited (february 1998 - Atavistic, 2001) is a tribute to John Coltrane's masterpiece.

Destroy All Nels Cline (july 2000 - Atavistic, 2001), a project with four guitarists and a rhythm section, is another sensational enterprise that aims at redefining the meaning of jazz from a punk-rock perspective. It include the 14-minute suite As In Life, one of his masperpieces.

Nels Cline also leads L. Stinkbug, a band with guitarist G.E. Stinson, bassist Stuart Liebig and drummer Scott Amendola. The Allure Of Roadside Curios (Starlight Furniture Company, 2002) collects four lengthy jams, as intense and mesmerizing as usual. The focus is on the timbres of the instruments, that are bent and "prepared" to generate the oddest pitches and lows.

The Instrumentals (august 2001 - Cryptogramophone, 2002), ironically credited to the Nels Cline Singers (bassist Devin Hoff and drummer Scott Amendola), run the gamut from savage Hendrix-ian rave-ups (Lowered Boom) to impressionistic vignettes (the 12-minute Lucia) to colossal free-format jams (the 15-minute Blood Drawing) to acrobatic counterpoint (the nine-minute A Mug Like Mine).

The Acoustic Guitar Trio (september 2000 - Incus, 2002) is Cline, Rod Poole and Jim McAuley, which is just that: an acoustic guitar trio.

Buried On Bunker Hill (recorded in 2003 - Ground Fault, 2004), a collaboration with bassist Devin "Crib" Sarno, is droning ambient music.

The all-instrumental The Giant Pin (august 2003 - Cryptogramophone, 2004), with the moving Something About David H, was again credited to the Nels Cline Singers, the trio with bassist Devin Hoff and drummer Scott Amendola, although it sounded less ambitious than their first disc.

The Entire Time (february 2003) was a collaboration with Vinny Golia.

Immolation/Immersion (april 2005 - Strange Attractors, 2005) is a collaboration with saxophonist Wally Shoup and percussionist Chris Corsano. highlighted by the 28-minute high-energy jam Immolation Immersion.

New Monastery (Cryptogramophone, 2006) was a tribute to the music of Andrew Hill, although it sounded more like a very personal reconstruction of it.

The Nels Cline Singers remained Cline's main project, crafting another all-instrumental gem, Draw Breath (february 2007 - Cryptogramophone, 2007), with the 16-minute An Evening At Pops and the 15-minute Mixed Message.

Downpour (Victo, 2007) documents a live jam with accordionist Andrea Parkins and drummer Tom Rainey.

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