Nels Cline: Consentrik Quartet
Whether you know him primarily from his work with Wilco over the past 20 years, his solo and collaborative recordings going back more than four decades, or his countless guest appearances with artists both obscure and world renowned, Nels Cline never fails to bring an original guitar voice to his endeavors. He’s equally well versed in rock and jazz—from straight-ahead to way-out there avant-garde—and there’s little he can’t elevate, the more challenging the better. Consentrik Quartet is a new outlet for Cline, matching him with a trio of equally resourceful and forward-thinking players—saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, bassist Chris Lightcap and drummer Tom Rainey. A two-disc set featuring a dozen original Cline compositions, the quartet’s self-titled debut, half of it commissioned by Philadelphia’s Ars Nova Workshop, is heavy on improvisation and careful to avoid repetition. Cline and his compatriots respect one another’s individualism while locking in so effortlessly as a unit that it’s sometimes difficult to fathom that this is the first time they’ve entered a studio together. “The Returning Angel,” the lead track, like several selections here, settles in largely as a congenial dialogue between Cline’s pastoral guitar and Laubrock’s alternately audacious and sympathetic saxophone. Occasionally, as in “Surplus” and “The Bag”—both of which give the powerhouse Rainey a workout— all four let loose and just see where that takes them. And it’s never disappointing. Rainey and Lightcap can be ferocious when called upon, but both, as well as Cline and Laubrock, are equally content to let a melody unfold at its own pace and explore it in real time. Whether Consentrik Quartet becomes a regular pursuit of Cline’s, or this turns out to be a one-off, they’ve already given open-minded listeners plenty to absorb.
