Alex Cline

Alex Cline ( born January 4, 1956 in Los Angeles ) is an American percussionist and composer of the Modern Creative Jazz.

Life and work

With his twin brother, guitarist Nels Cline Cline was already playing together in early youth. He graduated from the University Senior High School in Los Angeles where he continued to be active. First, he belonged to the band of Vinny Golia and Julius Hemphill Trio (together with Baikida Carroll ), with his brother Nels and multi-instrumentalist Brian Horner, he founded the electrically oriented improvising trio spiral, but was also in the late 1970s solo concerts.

Together with his brother, bassist Eric Von Essen and violinist Jeff Gauthier 1979, he founded the group Quartet Music. In 1987, he put on ECM before the album The Lamp and The Star, in which not only the musicians of Quartet Music, the singer Aina Kemanis and cellist Hank Roberts were involved. With his " Alex Cline Ensemble" he laid before more albums as Sparks Fly Upward and The Constant Flame. He also worked with other drummers like Ron George, Peter Erskine, Christopher Garcia, Andrea Centazzo, Gregg Bendian or Dan Morris and also made ​​himself a name as a performer of contemporary music; he performed works by composers such as Robert Eriksson, Harold Budd and David Means.

He has performed with Tim Berne, Arthur Blythe, Bobby Bradford, John Carter, Buddy Collette, Mark Dresser, Marty Ehrlich, Henry Grimes, Charlie Haden, Joseph Jarman, Henry Kaiser, Yusef Lateef, Charles Lloyd, Myra Melford, Frank Morgan, Don Preston, Elliott Sharp, Wadada Leo Smith, John Wolf Brennan and Richard Grossman on. He also worked as a musician for ballet performances, but also with visual artists.