About

Nels Cline made his Blue Note debut in 2016 with Lovers, an expansive double-album that the Wilco guitarist had dreamed of making for over 25 years. Inspired by the likes of Gil Evans, Jim Hall, Bill Evans, Johnny Mandel, Henry Mancini, and others, Cline finally realized his ambitious “mood music” project with an ensemble of 23 stellar musicians conducted and arranged by Michael Leonhart. Produced by David Breskin and recorded by Ron Saint Germain, the album’s 18 wide-ranging tracks presented striking Cline originals as well as Great American Songbook standards and songs by Sonic Youth, Arto Lindsay, Jimmy Giuffre, and others. — (via Label)

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Romantic “mood music” isn’t what most listeners expect from Nels Cline, but on his Blue Note debut, the Wilco guitarist delivers a chamber-orchestra set that visits some American songbook standards.

Fans of Nels Cline are accustomed to his adaptability. After starting his career in jazz’s progressive currents—and playing alongside saxophonist Julius Hemphill—the guitarist later became a member of Wilco, starting with Sky Blue Sky. He’s also maintained a feverish schedule as a solo artist: participating in improv-noise summits with Thurston Moore and recording an album with the fusionists in Medeski, Martin & Wood.

This isn’t a setup for some punkish deconstruction, either. The album starts off with a quarter-hour that sounds surprisingly straight-ahead. (Even the adventurous touches in the early going can be traced back to Gil Evans, Miles Davis’ sometime big-band arranger). Cline and his talented supporting musicians play “Glad to Be Unhappy” without any hint of camp—instead endeavoring to treat familiar themes with tenderness. Outside of those performances, the album offers some pensive Cline originals, as well as covers that wouldn’t normally be assigned to a “standards” group. — (via Pitchfork)

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— 2LP, reissued on 180g black vinyl
— Housed in gatefold sleeve
— Blue Note debut of renowned Wilco guitarist

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Label: Blue Note / Alstromeria Music
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album
Released: 2016
Genre: Jazz
Style: Contemporary Jazz

File under: Blue Note
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