Nels Courtney Cline (born January 4, 1956)
is an American guitarist and composer. He has been the guitarist for the band
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently dur ...
since 2004.
In the 1980s he played
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
, often in collaboration with his twin brother
Alex
Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis.
People
Multiple
*Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people
* Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people
*Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple pe ...
, a percussionist. He has worked with musicians in
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
and
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
such as
Carla Bozulich
Carla Ragin Bozulich (born December 24, 1965) is an American musician based in Los Angeles, known as the lead singer, lyricist and founder of The Geraldine Fibbers and Evangelista as well as a founding member of Ethyl Meatplow and Scarnella. The ...
and the
Geraldine Fibbers
The Geraldine Fibbers were an alt-country band founded in 1994 by Carla Bozulich. Initially, band members included Bozulich, Daniel Keenan, Julie Fowells, William Tutton and Kevin Fitzgerald.Strong, Martin C.:"The Great Alternative & Indie Discog ...
,
Mike Watt
Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957) is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter.
Watt co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo ...
and
Thurston Moore
Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American musician best known as a member of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Moo ...
. He leads the Nels Cline Singers, Nels Cline Trio, and the Nels Cline 4.
Cline was named the 82nd greatest guitarist of all time by ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' magazine in November 2011.
Career
![Nils double neck Wilco London on 24](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Nils_double_neck_Wilco_London_on_24.2.10.jpg)
Cline began to play guitar at age 12 when his twin brother Alex Cline started playing drums. The brothers developed together musically, playing in a rock band called Homogenized Goo.
Both graduated from
University High School. Cline cites hearing a recording of
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
performing "
Manic Depression
Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...
" as a defining moment in his decision to become a guitarist.
![Nels-Cline_DSC00309](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Nels-Cline_DSC00309.jpg)
Cline has performed on over 150 albums in jazz, pop, rock, country, and experimental music. He was featured in a cover story by ''
Guitar Player
''Guitar Player'' is an American popular magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California. It contains articles, interviews, reviews and lessons of an eclectic collection of artists, genres and products. It has been in print si ...
'' magazine for his work with the rock band Wilco.
Personal life
Cline is married to
Yuka Honda
Yuka Honda is a Japanese-American musician who resides in New York City. She is a multi-instrumentalist (mainly piano, synthesizer, sampler and other keyboards), composer, record producer, and co-founder of the band Cibo Matto. Throughout her c ...
of
Cibo Matto
Cibo Matto (, Italian for "crazy food") was an American alternative rock band formed by Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori in New York City in 1994. Initially, the band's lyrics were primarily concerned with food, before expanding into broader subject ma ...
.
Their wedding was in Honda's hometown in Japan in November 2010.
They met through Mike Watt when he assembled the group
Floored by Four.
Cline joined Honda as a guest guitarist in the
Yoko Ono Plastic Ono band for their tour in 2010.
Cline joined Honda and her band Cibo Matto at the 2015 Solid Sound Festival.
Discography
As leader
With Acoustic Guitar Trio
With
Banyan
A banyan, also spelled "banian", is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as a ...
With Quartet Music
With
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently dur ...
With other bands
As sideman
References
External links
Official WebsiteQ&A about Cline's DIRTY BABY projectState of Mind - Conversation with Nels Cline - June 2007State of Mind - Conversation with Nels Cline - May 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cline, Nels
1956 births
Living people
Avant-garde jazz musicians
American male composers
20th-century American guitarists
21st-century American guitarists
American jazz guitarists
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
University High School (Los Angeles) alumni
Wilco members
Guitarists from Los Angeles
20th-century American composers
American male jazz musicians
Big Walnuts Yonder members
The Nels Cline Singers members
Atavistic Records artists
Enja Records artists
Mack Avenue Records artists
RogueArt artists