Share The Wealth

· by Alain Brunet

Nels Cline has led a double, even triple or quadruple musical life since his professional debut. As a rock soloist with Wilco, he also performs contemporary jazz, free improvisation, noise, avant-rock, avant-folk, electroacoustic, and contemporary music of European tradition. It would be a mistake to try to confine him to any one of those boxes. Cline is one of those visionaries evolving at the antipodes of any sectarianism. Fans of American rock recognise his singularity, fans of contemporary music follow his career with interest, practitioners of extreme eclecticism happily enter his universe. The Nels Cline Singers have already given some memorable concerts. Jazz is most probably their dominant idiom, but Share The Wealth includes several stops that have little to do with it. Like John Zorn’s projects such as Electric Masada and The Dreamers, this group embodies what jazz-fusion should have become long ago, before it was transformed into performance music, a forum reserved for virtuoso soloists whose playing too often unfolds at the expense of compositional vision. Luckily, new projects from the original jazz-fusion are emerging from amid the repetition and showboating. Cline is one of the key craftsmen of this trend, combining several traditions around a sort of jazz descending from the great electric sessions conducted in the late ’60s and early ’70s. Not only can we identify references to Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Josef Zawinul, Chick Corea, and John McLaughlin, but also to other compositional aesthetics. The Nels Cline Singers is a variable ensemble yet a well-oiled, quick-response machine. Surrounding Cline are saxophonist Skerik, keyboardist Brian Marsella, bassist Trevor Dunn, drummer Scott Amendola, and percussionist Cyro Baptista. No singers in the Nels Cline Singers! This work sits in the realm of human singing that human machines have extended since time immemorial.

Latest 360 Content

A party with post-punk Brooklynites TVOD

A party with post-punk Brooklynites TVOD

FIRE! Orchestra at FIMAV: Power Trio Meets Canadian Community of Avant-Garde Players

FIRE! Orchestra at FIMAV: Power Trio Meets Canadian Community of Avant-Garde Players

Blondshell – If You Asked For a Picture

Blondshell – If You Asked For a Picture

Hitting a Fever Pitch at the Ribbon Skirt LP Launch 

Hitting a Fever Pitch at the Ribbon Skirt LP Launch 

Wu-Tang Clan & Mathematics – Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman.

Wu-Tang Clan & Mathematics – Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman.

Dalit Hadass Warshaw, Boston Modern Orchestra Project / Gil Rose – Sirens

Dalit Hadass Warshaw, Boston Modern Orchestra Project / Gil Rose – Sirens

Howard Shore/Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France – Shore : Anthology

Howard Shore/Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France – Shore : Anthology

Quatuor Diotima – Boulez : Livre pour quatuor

Quatuor Diotima – Boulez : Livre pour quatuor

LMNL – Rainbow

LMNL – Rainbow

Strat Andriotis – Exits

Strat Andriotis – Exits

Richard Reed Parry – The Actor

Richard Reed Parry – The Actor

Tamara Stefanovich – Organised Delirium

Tamara Stefanovich – Organised Delirium

Galan Trio – Embrace

Galan Trio – Embrace

Jack Van Zandt – A Chaos of Light and Motion

Jack Van Zandt – A Chaos of Light and Motion

Tommy Crane – Reality Curated: Live at Ursa

Tommy Crane – Reality Curated: Live at Ursa

Thomas DeLio – Anti-paysage

Thomas DeLio – Anti-paysage

No Hay Banda – Steven Kazuo Takasugi : Il Teatro Rosso

No Hay Banda – Steven Kazuo Takasugi : Il Teatro Rosso

Vancouver Contemporary Orchestra; Vancouver Chamber Choir – Christopher Tyler Nickel : Mass; Te Deum

Vancouver Contemporary Orchestra; Vancouver Chamber Choir – Christopher Tyler Nickel : Mass; Te Deum

Hypercube – The Force for Good

Hypercube – The Force for Good

PUP – Who Will Look After the Dogs?

PUP – Who Will Look After the Dogs?

Duo AYA – Cycles

Duo AYA – Cycles

Papillon Social Club – Dur de la feuille

Papillon Social Club – Dur de la feuille

Coalescent Quartet – The Wall Between Us

Coalescent Quartet – The Wall Between Us

Subscribe to our newsletter