Nels Cline

Consentrik Quartet

 Blue Note

There are few or any boundaries to guitarist Nels Cline’s restless imagination. Besides his lauded work with Wilco, on Blue Note alone he has released a chamber-orchestral album (Lovers), a dueling guitar album with Julian Lage (Currents, Constellations), and expansive sonics with his longtime group The Nels Cline Singers (Share the Wealth). Now we move mostly into avant-garde territory with Consentrik Quartet, a group comprised of musicians who have mostly made their mark in the free jazz scene. Drummer Tom Rainey has worked with Cline before on the album with Lage, and is probably best known for his work with saxophonists Tim Berne and Ingrid Laubrock. The latter is Rainey’s wife and group member, best known for her work with Mary Halvorson’s octet and Myra Melford’s quintet. Bassist Chris Lightcap has earned acclaim for his original music and his collaborations with Regina Carter, Craig Taborn, Matt Wilson, and others. Compared to his genre-agnostic singers, Cline calls this “much more of a jazz group.” If you have familiarity with the three in this quartet, you understand that the music is far often ‘out’ than ‘in.’.

Cline first assembled this group six years ago for free improvisation at John Zorn’s venue in Brooklyn, The Stone. Soon after, he received a grant and commission from the Philadelphia arts organization Ars Nova Workshop to compose new music and tour. Then the pandemic hit. Initially he was opting for a conservative approach and shunning electronics, but eventually the overdriven guitar and judicious use of electronics came into play. The results are wide-ranging, as we’d expect from Cline. There is free jazz improvisation, thick grooves, post-bop mixed with electric blues, swing, and the ethereal/hypnotic in this album.

Opener “The Returning Angel” begins with lightly strummed guitar chords before Laubrock enters with her sustained lines. Meanwhile, Rainey and Lightcap work in tandem rather subtly to build the tension eventually reflected in the saxophone/guitar front line. Yet, the piece remains mostly languorous and on the mesmeric side. They flow seamlessly into “23,” with the bass-drum tandem working up a sweaty groove over which Laubrock blows heartily while Cline mostly comps before launching a fiery solo, the two forces converging potently in the final segment. Rainey’s drumming is remarkable throughout this blistering track. Standout cooker “Surplus” is a hard-swinging track where Cline infuses the infectious melody delivered by Laubrock with raw electric blues phrasing over a busy engine room. “Slipping Into Something” does just that, beginning ethereally before exploding into free improvisation, with Laubrock and Cline exchanging lines and then intertwining them over a vibrant rhythm.

“Allende,” which features muscular bass playing by Lightcap, turns toward the ethereal, much like “The Returning Angel,” but does feature colorful hues and harmonics where the tenor saxophone and guitar blend together, accented by Rainey’s cymbal flourishes. The transition to “House of Steam” is yet another example of the terrific segues on this album. This one builds slowly with tension mounting until Laubrock and Cline begin sparring with each other in a post-modern version of an old-school cutting session, shrouded in electronics and effects in another standout track. The requisite respite comes with the mesmerizing “Inner Wall,” sounding as delicate as any ECM-like “dream jazz” piece until the last segment, where Rainey’s thunder is the catalyst for more energetic fare. Standout “Satomi,” heads in several directions, perhaps the furthest ‘out’ piece here as these four play to an impossibly challenging rhythm. The interplay between sax, guitar, and effects here is not only bracing but mind-numbing in the first half, while the latter half retreats to the contemplative with Far Eastern strains, sax, and guitar connected lyrically.

Rainey’s exceptional drumming is on display throughout, and he gets the spotlight on “The Bag,” a free jazz workout written by Cline expressively for him. Similarly, Cline nods to Lightcap, who takes the extended intro to “Question Marks (The Spot),” one of the more melodic pieces initially that dissolves into barely controlled chaos. In between, “Down Close” features vigorous conversational interplay between all four musicians. “Time of No Sirens” is a bookend piece, returning us to the placid calm that began the album.

This well-balanced album shows so many aspects of Cline’s tendencies, from the contemplative, gorgeous palettes to outright swingers and impossible-to-describe outrageous journeys.

– Jim Hynes

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