New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Guitarist Nels Cline will be presenting the music from his acclaimed new Blue Note album Lovers live this
Spring with a pair of West coast performances in Los Angeles (Royce Hall, April 8) and San Francisco (SFJAZZ, April 9). Visit nelscline.com/shows for ticket information, and stay tuned for announcements about further 2017 performances of Lovers to follow.
"I feel so lucky to be able to come to my home state of California and play this music from Lovers with many of my most cherished West Coast comrades as well as with treasured East Coast representatives! And yes - art and beauty still matter. It is an honor to participate in endeavors such as this," says Cline.
Click here to watch the new visual companion to the song "Glad To Be Unhappy." Lovers was released in August to rave reviews, and was named one of the Best Jazz Albums of 2016 by NPR Music,
Boston Globe, and others. Listen to Cline's fantastic interview on NPR
Fresh Air with Terry Gross.
See what the critics said about Lovers:
"Mr. Cline, the excellent lead guitarist in Wilco, has a quietly ravishing new double album, Lovers, that puts an elegant, knowing spin on orchestral jazz and chamber pop."—The New York Times
"a fascinating re-evaluation of the classic tunes, an extension of Mr. Cline's virtuosity, and a sense that the dots in Mr. Cline's diverse career connect in previously unseen ways... He wanted to address romance and mood music, the underside of love as well as the happily-ever-after part. With his diverse repertoire, expert arrangements and his band's dynamic playing, he has accomplished this and illustrated that emotional depth matters more in music today than genre category."—Wall Street Journal
"an exploration of romance… he's crafted moody, understated, texture-rich music… he emulates [Jim] Hall's distinctive liquid tone and graceful way with the melody… The best way to play music for lovers is to sound like one."—NPR All Things Considered
"Lovers is a departure for
Wilco guitar swami Nels Cline... wildly inventive in its watercolored way… Minus lyrics, they're reminders that romance has a power beyond words."—Rolling Stone
"Cline's guitar playing delights in this parade of upset expectations... thanks to its sly and measured embrace of the experimental, Lovers still has all the originality it needs to endear."—Pitchfork
"Cline excels at defying expectations... his playing incisive and restrained... As wonderful as the covers here are, Cline's own compositions put forth the most thrilling moments."—RELIX
"Lovers is a stunning record"—DownBeat
"guitarist and sonic provocateur Nels Cline invents a new brand of mood music"—JazzTimes
"Lovers [is] a collection that mirrors his eclectic career... the results are vast and startling, and sure to bring Cline an entirely new audience... Nels Cline may be the most versatile guitarist now working in jazz and pop."—Stereophile
Cline was named by Rolling Stone as one of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time," and for the last 12 years he's been a full-time member of the acclaimed rock band Wilco. Lovers is a project the guitarist had dreamed of for over 25 years. Inspired by the likes of Bill Evans, Jim Hall, Gil 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. The material on Lovers is wide-ranging, the album's 18 tracks include Cline's striking originals as well as Great American Songbook standards and songs by Sonic Youth, Arto Lindsay, Jimmy Giuffre and others. The album was produced by
David Breskin (Bill Frisell, John Zorn) and recorded and mixed by Ron Saint Germain (Sonic Youth, Bad Brains, Living Colour).
The ensemble for the April performances of Lovers is as follows:
STEVEN BERNSTEIN - trumpet
NELS CLINE - electric guitar
ALEX CLINE - drums
DAN CLUCAS - trumpet
MICHAEL DESSEN - trombone
BRAD DUTZ - vibraphone, marimba, percussion
JEFF GAUTHIER - violin
BEN GOLDBERG - contra-alto clarinet, Bb clarinet
VINNY GOLIA - woodwinds
DEVIN HOFF - bass
YUKA C HONDA - celeste, synth
JULIAN LAGE - electric & acoustic guitar, Dobro
MICHAEL LEONHART - conductor, trumpet, flugelhorn
ZEENA PARKINS - harp
MAGGIE PARKINS - cello
SARA SCHOENBECK - bassoon
GAVIN TEMPLETON - Bb clarinet
Lovers is available on vinyl, CD, download & streaming services
