Suite: Bittersweet

iTunes Review

Nels Cline might be best known for being the lead guitarist in the indie rock band Wilco but he’s been playing jazz, rock, and free improv since the ‘70s, and has worked with Julius Hemphill, Thurston Moore, Charlie Haden, and countless others. Here he collaborates with saxophonist Wally Shoup and drummer Greg Campbell, taking his guitar playing way outside as he intermingles with Shoup’s intense free blowing. Campbell’s drums bring focus to the tracks; there’s a jazz finesse to his playing that keeps the music from getting chaotic. Suite: Bittersweet features plenty of high-energy improvisation but the recording offers quiet moments as well. “Heal Up” creates a spacious soundscape where every tone, timbre and rest can be appreciated. A three-part suite is the album’s centerpiece; intriguing clangor, riffs that hint at blues-rock, and an unusual drum solo are some of the extended piece’s delights. To hear the band at full-bore, check out the appropriately titled “Dragout,” where Cline zigzags every which way, Shoup wails, and Campbell’s drums clatter and surge.