Alex Cline (born January 4, 1956) is an American jazz drummer.

Biography

Born in Los Angeles, California, Cline began playing drums with his twin brother, guitarist

Nels Cline Nels Courtney Cline (born January 4, 1956) is an American guitarist and composer. He has been the guitarist for the band Wilco since 2004. In the 1980s he played jazz, often in collaboration with his twin brother Alex, a percussionist. He has w ...

, at the age of 11. Their first band was called Homogenized Goo and included David Hirschman on guitar. Alex Cline began a musical association with

woodwind Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and re ...

artist Jamil Shabaka in 1976 as "Duo Infinity". In 1977, he became a member of

Vinny Golia Vinny Golia (born March 1, 1946) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist specializing in woodwind instruments. He performs in the genres of contemporary music, jazz, free jazz, and free improvisation. Career As a composer, Golia fuse ...

's group as well as the Julius Hemphill Trio (along with

Baikida Carroll Baikida Carroll (born January 15, 1947) is an American jazz trumpeter. Carroll studied at Southern Illinois University and at the Armed Forces School of Music. Following this he became a member of the Black Artists Group in St. Louis, where he di ...

), formed the electric improvisational trio Spiral (with brother Nels and synthesizer player and multi-instrumentalist Brian Horner) and began performing solo percussion concerts. In 1979, Alex and Nels Cline, along with bassist Eric von Essen and violinist 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 The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

and the

California Arts Council The California Arts Council is a state agency based in Sacramento, United States. Its eight council members are appointed by the Governor and the state Legislature. The agency's mission is to advance California through arts, culture and creativit ...

. In 1982, Alex Cline made his solo debut with ''Not Alone'' ( Nine Winds), a double LP of percussion music. In 1987, he recorded ''The Lamp and The Star'' ( ECM), his first album as a bandleader-composer. As the leader of his own group, The Alex Cline Ensemble, he can be heard on ''Sparks Fly Upward'' and ''The Constant Flame'', two releases on

Cryptogramophone Records Cryptogramophone Records is a jazz record label formed in 1998 by violinist Jeff Gauthier to document the music of his friend, Eric von Essen. Cryptogramophone has released albums by such West Coast musicians as guitarist Nels Cline, drummer ...

, an LA-based independent creative-jazz label. Cline's other improvisational collaborations include ''right of violet'' and ''The Other Shore'', both with Jeff Gauthier and ex- Shadowfax guitarist G.E. Stinson, and ''Cloud Plate'' (Cryptogramophone) with Stinson, vocalist Kaoru and

koto Koto may refer to: * Koto (band), an Italian synth pop group * Koto (instrument), a Japanese musical instrument * Koto (kana), a ligature of two Japanese katakana * Koto (traditional clothing), a traditional dress made by Afro-Surinamese women * K ...

player Miya Masaoka. Other groups Cline has led are Alex Cline's Band of the Moment and The Rain Trio (with Eric Barber and Scott Walton). He has also been involved in duo percussion collaborations with Ron George,

Peter Erskine Peter Erskine (born June 5, 1954) is an American jazz drummer who was a member of the jazz fusion groups Weather Report and Steps Ahead. Early life and education Erskine was born in Somers Point, New Jersey, U.S. He began playing the dru ...

, Christopher Garcia,

Andrea Centazzo Andrea Centazzo (born 1948) is an Italian-born American composer, percussionist, multimedia artist and record label founder. Music career Centazzo was born in Udine, Italy. In the 1970s he played percussion in avant-garde jazz with John Zorn, S ...

Gregg Bendian Gregg Bendian (born July 13, 1963) is an American jazz drummer, percussionist, pianist, and composer. Early life Born in Englewood, New Jersey, Bendian was raised in Fairview and Teaneck. Bendian began playing drums at the age of nine and stu ...

and Dan Morris, as well as involved in performing the works of composers such as Robert Eriksson,

Harold Budd Harold Montgomory Budd (May 24, 1936December 8, 2020) was an American composer and poet. Born in Los Angeles and raised in the Mojave Desert, he became a respected composer in the minimalist and avant-garde scene of Southern California in the ...

and David Means. Cline has served as composer and/or performer for numerous modern dancers and dance companies in Los Angeles, including Margaret Schuette, Linda Fowler, the Momentum Company's "Soundspace" concerts, Dance/LA, the UCLA Dance Company and has enjoyed a longstanding involvement with Will Salmon's Open Gate Theatre company. He has participated in performance collaborations with visual artists Yoshio Ikezaki, Norton Wisdom, Kio Griffith and 2-Tu. He has worked on feature and cable television film soundtracks, done numerous sound workshops and percussion clinics, plus lecture-demonstrations on Asian metal percussion instruments. Cline has also been the curator of the Open Gate Theatre's Sunday Evening Concerts series, a new music/creative jazz showcase held monthly in

Eagle Rock, California Eagle Rock is a neighborhood of Northeast Los Angeles, abutting the San Rafael Hills in Los Angeles County, California. Eagle Rock is named after Eagle Rock, a large boulder whose shadow resembles an eagle.http://www.eaglerockcouncil.org/index.p ...

(since 1997). He also works as an interviewer/interview series developer-coordinator at the UCLA Library Center for Oral History Research. Cline has worked with

Tim Berne Tim Berne (born October 16, 1954) is an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and record label owner. His primary instruments are the alto and baritone saxophones. Biography Berne was born in Syracuse, New York, United States. He has said that ...

, Arthur Blythe, Bobby Bradford,

John Wolf Brennan John Wolf Brennan (born 13 February 1954) is an Irish pianist, organist, melodica player, and composer based in Weggis, Switzerland. Career Brennan was born in Dublin, Ireland. His family moved to Switzerland when he was seven years old. He be ...

, John Carter,

Buddy Collette William Marcel "Buddy" Collette (August 6, 1921 – September 19, 2010) was an American jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet. Early life William Marcel Collette was born in L ...

Mark Dresser Mark Dresser (born September 26, 1952) is an American double bass player and composer. Career Dresser was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. In the 1970s, he was a member of Black Music Infinity led by Stanley Crouch and performed ...

Marty Ehrlich Marty Ehrlich (born May 31, 1955) is a multi-instrumentalist (saxophones, clarinets, flutes) and is considered one of the leading figures in avant-garde jazz. Biography Though born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the portion of Ehrlich's youth spent in ...

Henry Grimes Henry Grimes (November 3, 1935 – April 15, 2020) was an American jazz double bassist and violinist. After more than a decade of activity and performance, notably as a leading bassist in free jazz, Grimes completely disappeared from the music s ...

Charlie Haden Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than 50 years. In the late 1950s, he was an original member of the ground-breaking ...

Joseph Jarman Joseph Jarman (September 14, 1937 – January 9, 2019) was an American jazz musician, composer, poet, and Shinshu Buddhist priest. He was one of the first members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and a member of the ...

, Henry Kaiser,

Yusef Lateef Yusef Abdul Lateef (born William Emanuel Huddleston; October 9, 1920 – December 23, 2013) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and prominent figure among the Ahmadiyya Community in America. Although Lateef's main instruments ...

, Charles Lloyd,

Myra Melford Myra Melford (born January 5, 1957) is an American avant-garde jazz pianist and composer. A 2013 Guggenheim Fellow, Melford was described by the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' as an "explosive player, a virtuoso who shocks and soothes, and who can m ...

Frank Morgan Francis Phillip Wuppermann (June 1, 1890 – September 18, 1949), known professionally as Frank Morgan, was an American character actor. He was best known for his appearances in films starting in the silent era in 1916, and then numerous sound ...

Don Preston Donald Ward Preston (born September 21, 1932) is an American jazz and rock keyboardist. He is known for working with Frank Zappa from the mid 1960s to the mid 1970s. Biography Preston was born into a family of musicians in Detroit and began st ...

Elliott Sharp Elliott Sharp (born March 1, 1951) is an American contemporary classical composer, multi-instrumentalist, and performer. A central figure in the avant-garde and experimental music scene in New York City since the late 1970s, Sharp has released ...

, and

Wadada Leo Smith Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith (born December 18, 1941) is an American trumpeter and composer, working primarily in the fields of avant-garde jazz and free improvisation. He was one of three finalists for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music for ''Ten Free ...

Discography

As leader

* ''Duo Infinity'' with Jamil Shabaka (Aten, 1977) * ''Not Alone'' (Nine Winds, 1981) * ''The Lamp and the Star'' (ECM, 1989) * ''Montsalvat'' (Nine Winds, 1995) * ''Right of Violet'' with Jeff Gauthier, G.E. Stinson (Nine Winds, 1996) * ''Espiritu'' with Gregg Bendian (Trumedia, 1998) * ''Sparks Fly Upward'' (Cryptogramophone, 1999) * ''The Other Shore'' with Jeff Gauthier, G.E. Stinson (Cryptogramophone, 2000) * ''The Constant Flame'' (Cryptogramophone, 2001) * ''Cloud Plate'' (Cryptogramophone, 2005) * ''Continuation'' (Cryptogramophone, 2008) * ''For People in Sorrow'' (Cryptogramophone, 2013) * ''Dependent Origination'' (FMR, 2018) With Quartet Music * ''Quartet Music'' (Nine Winds, 1981) * ''Ocean Park'' (Nine Winds, 1984) * ''Window On the Lake'' (Nine Winds, 1986) * ''Summer Night'' (Delos, 1989)

As sideman

With

* ''Gregg Bendian's Interzone'' (Eremite, 1996) * ''Myriad'' (Atavistic, 2000) * ''Requiem for Jack Kirby'' (Atavistic, 2001) With

* ''The Five-Year Plan'' (Empire, 1979) * ''7X'' (Empire, 1980) * ''Spectres'' (Empire, 1981) * ''Fulton Street Maul'' (Columbia, 1987) With

* ''Angelica'' (Enja, 1988) * '' Destroy All Nels Cline'' ( Avavistic, 2000) * '' New Monastery'' (Cryptogramophone, 2006) * '' Dirty Baby'' (Cryptogramophone, 2010) * '' Lovers'' (

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...

, 2016) With Jeff Gauthier * ''Internal Memo'' (Nine Winds, 1994) * ''The Present'' (Nine Winds, 1997) * ''Mask'' (Cryptogramophone, 2002) * ''One and the Same'' (Cryptogramophone, 2006) * ''House of Return'' (Cryptogramophone, 2008) * ''Open Source'' (Cryptogramophone, 2011) With

* ''Spirits in Fellowship'' (Nine Winds, 1977) * ''In the Right Order...'' (Nine Winds, 1979) * ''Openhearted'' (Nine Winds, 1979) * ''The Gift of Fury'' (Nine Winds, 1981) * ''Compositions for Large Ensemble'' (Nine Winds, 1982) * ''Slice of Life'' (Nine Winds, 1983) * ''Goin' Ahead'' (Nine Winds, 1985) * ''Facts of Their Own Lives'' (Nine Winds, 1986) * ''Out for Blood'' (Nine Winds, 1989) * ''Pilgrimage to Obscurity'' (Nine Winds, 1990) * ''Decennium Dans Axlan'' (Nine Winds, 1993) * ''Commemoration'' (Nine Winds, 1994) * ''Regards from Norma Desmond'' (Fresh Sound, 1994) * ''Tutto Contare'' (Nine Winds, 1995) * ''Portland 1996'' (Nine Winds, 1997) * ''Nation of Laws'' (Nine Winds, 1997) * ''Lineage'' (Nine Winds, 1998) * ''The Other Bridge'' (Nine Winds, 2000) * ''One, Three, Two'' (Jazz'Halo 2004) * ''Sfumato'' (Clean Feed, 2005) * ''Take Your Time'' (

Relative Pitch Relative pitch is the ability of a person to identify or re-create a given musical note by comparing it to a reference note and identifying the interval between those two notes. For example, if the note ''Do'' and ''Fa'' is played on a piano, a per ...

, 2011) With Richard Grossman * ''One... Two... Three... Four...'' (Nine Winds, 1986) * ''Trio in Real Time'' (Nine Winds, 1990) * ''In the Air'' (Nine Winds, 1991) * ''Remember'' (Magnatone, 1994) * ''Even Your Ears'' (hatOLOGY, 1998) With John Rapson * ''Deeba Dah-Bwee'' (Nine Winds, 1984) * ''Bu-Wah'' (Nine Winds, 1986) * ''Bing'' (Sound Aspects, 1990) * ''Dances & Orations'' (Music & Arts, 1996) With others * Bobby Bradford, ''Live at the Open Gate'' (NoBusiness, 2016) *

, ''Shooting Stars & Traffic Lights'' (L+R/Bellaphon, 1995) * John Wolf Brennan, ''I.N.I.T.I.A.L.S.'' (Creative Works, 2005) *

, ''U.S.A. Concerts'' (Ictus, 1978) *

Amir ElSaffar Amir ElSaffar (born 1977 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. His compositions combine jazz, classical, and traditional Arabic music. Biography ElSaffar was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1977. His mother, Ruth Antho ...

, ''Radif Suite'' (Pi, 2010) *

Dennis Gonzalez Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is someti ...

, ''The Earth and the Heart'' (Konnex, 1991) *

, ''In Angel City'' (Verve, 1988) *

Ross Hammond Ross Hammond (born August 10, 1977) is a Sacramento-based jazz guitarist, educator and concert promoter. Early life Hammond was born August 10, 1977, in Lexington, Kentucky. He moved to Sacramento when he was 10 years old. Hammond started playin ...

, ''Adored'' (Prescott, 2012) * Ross Hammond, ''Cathedrals'' (Prescott, 2013) * Joel Harrison, ''3 + 3 = 7'' (Nine Winds, 1996) * Julius Hemphill, ''Georgia Blue'' (Minor Music, 1984) * Steuart Liebig, ''Pomegranate'' (Cryptogramophone, 2001) *

Lydia Lunch Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch; June 2, 1959)Martin Charles Strong. ''The Great Indie Discography''. 2003, page 85 is an American singer, poet, writer, actress and self-empowerment speaker. Her career began during the 1970s New York City no ...

, ''Smoke in the Shadows'' (Breakin Beats, 2004) * David Moss, Alex Cline, Andrea Centazzo, ''Percussion Interchanges'' (Ictus, 1981) * David Moss, Alex Cline, Andrea Centazzo, ''Koans: Vol. Two'' (Ictus, 2006) * Armen Nalbandian, ''Orbits'' (Blacksmith Brother, 2018) * Armen Nalbandian, ''V'' (Blacksmith Brother, 2018) *

, ''Transformation'' (Cryptogramophone, 2001) *

Adam Rudolph Adam Rudolph (born September 12, 1955) is a jazz composer and percussionist performing in the post-bop and world fusion media. In 1988, Rudolph met jazz musician Yusef Lateef, and the two would go on to collaborate and perform together for t ...

, ''Web of Light'' (Meta, 2002) * G. E. Stinson, ''The Same Without You'' (Nine Winds, 1992) * Walter Thompson, ''Stardate'' (Dane 1980)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cline, Alex 1956 births American jazz composers Avant-garde jazz musicians American jazz drummers People from Los Angeles University of California, Los Angeles faculty Living people 20th-century American drummers American male drummers American male jazz composers 20th-century American male musicians Jazz musicians from California