Nels Cline has released Consentrik Quartet, the eponymous debut of the guitarist’s new band with saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, bassist Chris Lightcap & drummer Tom Rainey. By turns swinging, grooving, bracing, mesmeric & quietly stunning, the album spotlights the ensemble’s profound chemistry as well as Cline’s versatility as both a player & a writer.

“The jazziest of his recordings since coming to the iconic label in 2016, guitarist Nels Cline’s Consentrik Quartet finds him in a loose, playful and often swinging mode”

—DownBeat ★★★★½

To be sure, Cline has range. Think of how he elevates the songs of Jeff Tweedy as a member of Wilco, or the diverse musical terrain he’s traversed on his Blue Note albums over the past decade from the gorgeous, sweeping mood music of Lovers featuring lush arrangements by Michael Leonhart to the wide-open sonic audacity of Share The Wealth featuring The Nels Cline Singers to the guitar summit Currents, Constellations which found him fronting The Nels Cline 4 with Julian Lage.