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Alex Cline
Born January 4, 1956, in Los Angeles, Alex Cline began playing the drums at age eleven, first in rock bands with his twin brother, guitarist Nels Cline, then, as his interests and experience expanded, in numerous musical situations. Alex's interest in a larger sonic vocabulary caused him to gather a large family of percussion instruments which he has been heard playing mainly in the "jazz" and "new Music"genres. After beginning a musical association with woodwind artist Jamil Shabaka in 1976 as Duo Infinity, Alex's musical activities began to flourish. In 1977 Alex became a member of Vinny Golia's group as well as the Julius Hemphill Trio (which toured Europe and recorded that year), he formed the electric improvisational trio Spiral, and began performnig solo percussion concerts.
Since that time Alex Cline has performed and/or recorded with numerous musical artists. See Performance Credits and Selected Discography. His musical pursuits have taken him all over the United States, Europe, and Canada, including appearances at the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Hague, the Netherlands' the Du Maurier International Jazz Festival in Vancouver, B.C., Canada (twice); the Lucerne Festival, Lucerne, Switzerland, and jazz festivals of Willisau, Switzerland; Saalfelden, Austria; Nickelsdorff, Austria; Hofheim, Germany (twice); ris-oragges, France; Milan, Italy (twice) and Ljubljana, Yugoslavia.
In 1979, Alex, Nels Cline, Eric Von Essen and Jeff Gauthier formed Quartet Music, a group that enjoyed continued success in its performances and four recordings over an eleven-year period and was awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the California Arts Council. Several of Alex's compositions were performed and recorded by this ensemble. In summer 1989 Quartet Music performed its music for two consecutive evenings together with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Alex has served as composer and/or performed for numerous modern dancers and dance companies in Los Angeles, including Margaret Schuette, Linda Fowler, the Momenty Company (for whom he served as music director for their "SoundSpace concerts), Dance/LA, the UCLA Dance Com pany, and currently, Open Gate Theatre (a dance-music-theater ensemboe led by dancer/musician Will Salmon). He has worked on film soundtracks (featured prominently in such films as Umbrella, the Being, Blood and Contrete:A Love Story, Trouble Bound, The Serpent's Lair, and Small Time), been heard in televison soundtracks, done numerous sound workshops and percussion clinics plus lecture/demonstrations on one of Alex's primary areas of interest and study, Asian metal percussion instruments, particularly the singing bowls of Tibet.
In 1987, Alex recorded his first album as a bandleader-composer entitled The Lamp and The Star. He is now concertizing with his own ensemble, the core of which can be heard on the album (ECM1372). In 1992, this ensemble recorded their second album, Montsalvat, released in January 1996 on the 9Winds label. The latest release by the Alex Cline Ensemble is Sparks Fly Upward, released 1999, produced by Peter Erskine.
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The Boyé Multi-National Crusade For Harmony
by Stefano Merighi
Che trionfo per Julius Hemphill! A dispetto delle poche pagine--o righe--che le recenti storie del jazz dedicano al maestro di Fort Worth, Hemphill emerge da questo cofanetto di inediti come sassofonista-improvvisatore-compositore tra i più profondi della musica afroamericana nei decenni compresi tra gli anni '70 e '90. E questa preziosa edizione non solo torna a far luce su repertori e organici già conosciuti dai cultori, ma porta in superficie una gran mole di musica fresca, sorprendente, che ...
Continue ReadingJulius Hemphill: The Boyé Multi-National Crusade For Harmony
by Mark Corroto
There is something inherently objectionable when a billionaire acquires an artistic masterpiece by say, Leonardo DaVinci or Claude Monet, only to sequester it from public view. You might feel the same about Julius Hemphill's recordings Dogon A.D. (Mbari, 1972) and 'Coon Bid'ness (Arista/Freedom, 1975). Both five star recordings, now out of print, cost a small fortune to acquire. Years ago saxophonist Tim Berne, a disciple of Hemphill, endeavored to rescue the saxophonist's Blue Boyé (Mbari, 1977) by rereleasing it in ...
Continue ReadingGeorge McMullen Trio: Boomerang.
by Maurizio Zerbo
É tanto affascinante la sonorità scura del trombone, quanto sempre più rari i musicisti che ci si dedicano. È pertanto degno di attenzione questo bel cd di George McMullen, più volte vincitore di un Grammy Awards. Insieme a quattro libere improvvisazioni, sette composizioni originali del leader impreziosiscono le vorticose trame di una avvincente proposta, in bilico tra jazz d'avanguardia e mainstream d'altissimo livello. Contrabbasso e batteria provvedono ad una straordinaria poliritmia, che esalta la zigzagante frammentazione nel fraseggio del trombonista ...
Continue ReadingNels and Alex Cline at The Jazz Bakery
by Jonathan Manning
Nels Cline / Alex Cline Jazz Bakery (Moss Theater) Santa Monica, CA January 13, 2018 Nine years ago, Nels and Alex Cline played live as a duo for only the third time ever. On January 13, just nine days after their collective 62nd birthday, they made it the fourth. The brothers Cline performed together at the Moss Theater in Santa Monica, near where they grew up. The event was partly instigated by ...
Continue ReadingAlex Cline's Flower Garland Orchestra: Oceans of Vows
by Angelo Leonardi
Un lavoro singolare e affascinante. Grazie a un finanziamento della Shifting Foundation Alex Cline ha scritto e registrato un'ambiziosa suite, che si presenta in un doppio compact di raffinata eleganza. Due ore di musica ispirate all'Avatamsaka Sutra (in inglese Flower Garland Sutra), uno dei massimi testi della tradizione buddhista e a versi del monaco vietnamita Thich Nhat Hanh. Estratti di queste opere vengono recitati all'interno di alcune esecuzioni strumentali. L'organico che esegue è composto da 13 musicisti diretti ...
Continue ReadingAlex Cline's Flower Garland Orchestra: Oceans of Vows
by John Kelman
Despite being a key participant in the “Left Coast" scene of more avant-leaning music from the American west coast--in particular, part of the Cryptogramophone imprint that, while less active than in its “glory days" during the first years of the new millennium--Alex Cline releases so infrequently as a leader that any new music from the percussionist/composer is worthy of attention. That he has flown so far under the radar, in recent years, that his last Cryptogramophone release, 2013's For People ...
Continue ReadingAlex Cline: Free-Spirited Drummer
by R.J. DeLuke
West coast drummer/percussionist Alex Cline is a sensitive player with a strong feel for interesting harmonies, shifting voices and changing moods when he writes music. It's a sensitivity not usually associated with drummers. But what's inside Cline, and comes through in his music, is from an artist and a musician, not merely a drummer.
He plays mainstream jazz gigs, but after his rock-influenced youth, he gravitated, almost by fate, to the free-form improvisers, getting his first ...
Continue ReadingAlex Cline's Band of the Moment at the Hammer Museum on July 27th
Source:
Michael Ricci
Tuesday, July 27, 2010 FREE! Led by drummer-percussionist-composer Alex Cline, Band of the Moment is a uniquely eclectic ensemble of Los Angeles creative jazz all-stars who represent a full spectrum of modern jazz music's more creative and compelling developments over the last few decades. ALL HAMMER PUBLIC PROGRAMS ARE FREE. Seating is on a first come, first served basis. Hammer members receive priority seating, subject to availability. Reservations not accepted, RSVPs not required. Easy parking is available under ...
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Musical Cline Twins March to Different Beats
Source:
Michael Ricci
Drummer Alex and guitarist Nels grew up as jazz hounds around L.A., yet they ended up taking parallel but divergent paths.
For a pair of identical twins, it's surprisingly easy to tell Nels and Alex Cline apart.
Dressed in a T-shirt and dark, slim-cut jeans, spiky-haired Nels Cline looks the part of distinguished “guitar god," even at 52 years old. Rolling Stone paid the angular musician the compliment in 2007 after he rose through the L.A. jazz and improvised music ...
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Percussionist/Composer Alex Cline Interviewed at AAJ
Source:
All About Jazz
West coast drummer/percussionist Alex Cline is a sensitive player with a strong feel for interesting harmonies, shifting voices and changing moods when he writes music. It's a sensitivity not usually associated with drummers. But what's inside Cline, and comes through in his music, is from an artist and a musician, not merely a drummer.
He plays mainstream jazz gigs, but after his rock-influenced youth, he gravitated, almost by fate, to the free-form improvisers, getting his first break playing with Julius ...
read more
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Alex Cline
Location: Los Angeles
Instrument: Drums
Born: January 4, 1956
