Room (Mack Avenue)
Nels Cline / Julian Lage
Released November 23, 2014
Allmusic Favorite Jazz Albums 2014
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About:
Nels Cline is a major force as a guitarist and improviser, ever since he debuted on record in 1978 and as a leader in 1988. Named by Rolling Stone as one of 20 “new guitar gods” and one of the top 100 guitarists of all time, Cline has gained his widest fame as a member of acclaimed rock band Wilco since 2004. He’s known for a certain cranked-up experimental mayhem, the kind sometimes heard from his extraordinary trio the Nels Cline Singers, which released the well-received MACROSCOPE on Mack Avenue earlier in 2014. But throughout his career, Cline has undertaken projects, sometimes acoustic or semi-acoustic duos, highlighting an intimate and reflective approach that’s just as central to his artistry.
With ROOM, Cline returns to Mack Avenue, creating a world of melodic beauty but also hard sonic edges and technical brilliance in the company of Julian Lage. At just 26, Lage has taken the world of jazz guitar by storm. The New York Times hails the “disarming spirit of generosity” in Lage’s music and notes the young guitarist’s “roots tangled up in jazz, folk, classical and country music.” In addition to his work with Mark O’Connor, the late Jim Hall, Anthony Wilson and a great many others, Lage leads his own groundbreaking groups as documented on the albums Gladwell and Sounding Point (the latter earning Lage a Grammy nomination).
In a 2013 Q&A with JazzTimes, Lage described the Cline-Lage duo sound as “200 percent power,” and that’s exactly what comes through on ROOM: an inspired collection of originals and collaborative pieces that run the full range from intricately composed and complex to free and spontaneous. Cline builds on the strength of his previous duo work with the likes of Vinny Golia, Zeena Parkins, Elliott Sharp, Thurston Moore, Carla Bozulich, Marc Ribot and not least of all the late West Coast bassist Eric Von Essen, to which the gorgeous dual-acoustic showcase “Whispers from Eve” is dedicated. Lage, for his part, has worked in duo settings with David Grisman, Martin Taylor, John Abercrombie, Taylor Eigsti and others.
Cline and Lage remain on acoustic guitars to end ROOM with “Calder,” a reference to the visionary sculptor Alexander Calder. “I have a Calder mobile that my mom sent me years ago when I moved back east,” Lage says. “It hangs in my apartment and I just love it. So though I wrote the tune first and the title came later, I felt like the presence of the mobile fit the mode of the piece well.” On ROOM one hears two guitar masters who span the generations, comfortable in every conceivable role, meeting the daunting challenges of these compositions while giving themselves over to the moment. In the JazzTimes Q&A, Cline credited the duo for revitalizing his playing overall: “I was burned out on touring, burned out on myself…. And when Julian and I started playing together it kicked my ass hard. At the same time it inspired me and refreshed my soul.” Lage replied, “Likewise.”
Track Listing:
1. Abstract 12 (Julian Lage) 01:47
2. Racy (Nels Cline) 03:42
3. The Scent of Light (Nels Cline) 09:29
4. Whispers from Eve (Nels Cline) 07:24
5. Blues, Too (Nels Cline) 07:02
6. Odd End (Nels Cline) 02:52
7. Amenette (Nels Cline) 03:24
8. Freesia/The Bond (Nels Cline) 10:30
9. Waxman (Nels Cline / Julian Lage) 05:59
10. Calder (Julian Lage) 04:37
Personnel:
Nels Cline: electric and acoustic guitar
Julian Lage: electric and acoustic guitar
Recorded December 1 – 3, 2013, at Sear Sound, NYC
Produced by Julian Lage and Nels Cline
Recorded and Mixed by Christopher Allen
Assisted by Owen Mulholland
Mastered by Dan Millice
Layout: Matt Pfahlert
Photography: Sean Lennon
Review:
As tempting as it may be to imagine two stellar guitarists meeting for the first time in a recording studio and just going for it, that isn’t quite what happens here — even though the sense of spontaneity and energy at work on Room would suggest just that. Nels Cline and Julian Lage, guitarists from two very different backgrounds (and generations) had played together live before this date. The former has been making music since the 1970s in settings ranging from fiery vanguard jazz to punk to roots rock and more. Lage is a prodigy coming into his own. He has worked in jazz and classical music and has been celebrated largely as a traditionalist. On Room, each player brought only an acoustic and electric guitar; there are no effects pedals. The recordings were done absolutely live. Both men brought material, but it’s not the formal compositions that delight so much as the kinetic dialogue that occurs within them. The simple, nearly classical counterpoint and harmonics at work in the brief opener “Abstract 12” build on a recurring pattern which gives birth to intimate scalar interplay — some of it quite free. “Racy” employs twin leads in a knotty arpeggiated intro before asserting a funky bass vamp and some gorgeous back and forth soloing. “Whispers from Eve” is an utterly lovely acoustic ballad; the chords shimmer and lilt while the solos draw from jazz and folk in equal measures. “Blues, Too” nods toward Jim Hall in its articulation of micro-harmonics inside dissonant architecture. “Odd End” walks a tightrope between Django Reinhardt’s swing, modern instrumental folk, and blues. Its twinned chromatic arpeggios across octaves are as dazzling as the dynamic in the changes. The set’s longest cut, the suite-like “Freesia/The Bond,” is also its strongest. Though the pace is anything but slow, it gradually draws on everything from chamber music to post-bop, Celtic folk to swing, transcendent modernism to even pop in a glorious labyrinthine architecture that showcases the inherent differences in each player’s individual styles. Its conclusion is euphoric in its lyricism. For all its starkness, on Room these players not only support one another, they create space for reconsideration and expansion. Cline takes Lage further out onto the improvisational ledge than he’s ever been before, while Lage draws Cline toward a sense of lyricism and restraint he hasn’t employed in many years. Room betrays no hesitation, displays no false moves, offers no space for safety. And that’s just how this duo likes it. It is abundant in its offer of pleasure for fans of guitar jazz and it may even hold wider appeal for those who are drawn to in-the-moment musical creation.
Thom Jurek (AllMusic)
