January 31, 2025
Today, acclaimed guitarist and Wilco member Nels Cline released “Down Close,” the second single and live video from his upcoming album Consentrik Quartet, out March 14 on Blue Note Records. The release is the eponymous debut of the guitarist’s newest band comprising saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, bassist Chris Lightcap, and drummer Tom Rainey. By turns swinging, grooving, bracing, mesmeric, and quietly stunning, the album spotlights the ensemble’s profound chemistry as well as Cline’s versatility as both a player and a writer. Consentrik Quartet is available for pre-order on Blue Note Store exclusive color vinyl, black vinyl, CD, or download.
Consentrik Quartet also underscores his ceaseless appetite for and encyclopedic knowledge of great improvised music: Committed jazz observers might hear echoes of the guitar/sax frontline attack and programmatic scope of the John Scofield/Joe Lovano quartets, as well as the soft-spoken intensity and seamless blend of composition and improvisation that defined the various iterations of the Jimmy Giuffre 3. It also calls to mind adventurous 1960s Blue Note classics by Andrew Hill, Eric Dolphy, and others. In fact, Consentrik Quartet feels at times like a roadmap to Cline’s rich and considered palette of influences.
Cline’s range is undeniable. Think of how he elevates the songs of Jeff Tweedy as a member of Wilco, or the diverse musical terrain he’s traversed on his albums for Blue Note Records over the past decade — from the gorgeous, sweeping mood music of Lovers featuring lush arrangements by Michael Leonhart to the wide-open sonic audacity of Share The Wealth, the latter featuring his longtime group the Nels Cline Singers.
Nels Cline has also just announced a run of Northeast U.S. tour dates with Consentrik Quartet, including April 14 at (le) poisson rouge in New York City. The band will also be celebrating the album release with a performance at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee on March 30. Cline will in fact be making four appearances at the festival this year including performances with eucademix (March 28) and Jenny Scheinman (March 29), as well as the first live show by an expanded version of The Nels Cline Singers (March 28) since the release of Share The Wealth in 2020. Visit nelscline.com/shows for more info.
Nels Cline Consentrik Quartet – Spring 2025 Tour:
3/30 – Knoxville, TN @ Big Ears
4/7 – Portsmouth, NH @ The Press Room
4/8 – Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse
4/9 – Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom
4/10 – Nashua, NH @ Nashua Center for the Arts
4/11 – Marlboro, NY @ The Falcon
4/12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Solar Myth
4/14 – New York, NY @ (le) poisson rouge
