[rating=8.00]
Nels Cline has it all figured out. He plays with Wilco for the bigger audiences and makes adventurous avant-jazz albums to satisfy his ever-changing, creative muse. Wilco’s lead guitarist since 2004 began his recording career in 1980 and with this release, Currents, Constellations; under his own name he has delivered almost 50 albums, this being his second for Blue Note and the first with this band.
Fueled both by the success of his quietly orchestrated 2016 Blue Note debut Lovers and mostly by his 2014 guitar duet album Room with Julian Lage, Cline once again teams with Lage but adds the aggressive, flexible rhythm section of bassist Scott Colley and drummer Tom Rainey to form The Nels Cline 4. While Room featured dazzling acoustic and electric guitar interplay free of pedals, this effort amps up the energy level but still leaves a similar sense of freedom, at times both delicate and wild. The guitarists have very different backgrounds (and generations). Kline’s music ranges from fiery fusion jazz to punk to roots rock and more. Lage, now 30, came up as a child prodigy and prior to teaming with Cline, worked mainly as a traditionalist in jazz and classical music. The rapport between the two is palpable as they resist the urge to engage in solos or any real cutting. Instead, they produce an ensemble sound which runs the gamut from fiery, incendiary improvisations, some of which echo the golden era of fusion, to more contemplative pieces that are melodic with gorgeously expressive guitar tones.
Touching on a few of the tracks, they are all Cline compositions, save a rare Carla Bley find from one of Cline’s favorite groups, The Jimmy Giuffre 3, called “Temporarily,” rendered as a kind of chamber jazz. You hear the difference from Room immediately as a loud dissonant chord and Rainey drum solo usher in the opening track, “Furtive.” Its dense harmonies and up-tempo approach are inspired by Duke Ellington’s “Tourist Point of View” from The Far East Suite. Fusion is most evident in the funky “Imperfect 10,” the original title of which was “Jazz Fusion Composition.”
Quieter fare appears in the Ralph Towner inspired ballad “As Close As That.” The two-part “River Mouth’ brings in echoes of Miles’ In a Silent Way. “For Each, A Flower” is a closing homage to those who have recently passed. “Amenette’ was first a duo piece on Room but its opening unison line morphs into free jazz where each player gets spotlighted, albeit briefly. The opening riff reminded Cline of Scott Amendola’s “Street Beat” and Ornette Coleman too; hence the title.
This is spontaneous music made in the moment, shifting in tempo, dynamics, and melodies within the piece. (i.e. “Swing Ghost 59”). Yet the music from this quartet is very accessible. Sometimes the beauty of The Nels Cline 4 lies in simple passages that lead to unpredictable exploratory excursions that keep the listener engaged.
