In any discussion of the most awe-inspiring musicians working today, Wilco’s Nels Cline and Glenn Kotche’s names have to come up. Cline is a prolific, idiosyncratic guitarist who plays like no one before him, while Kotche is a thunderous and inventive percussionist who took the great Chicago band Wilco to a whole new level when he joined it in 2001.
These are men who have quietly revolutionized their instruments and they’re making a rare appearance together at the Guelph Jazz Festival on Thursday, Sept. 6, and Friday, Sept. 7. It will be a shift away from Wilco for both; the band has been touring hard for the last year, behind their latest album, The Whole Love. The Guelph dates will find the two artists improvising together, free from the compositions some fans know them best for.
“Playing with Wilco is certainly different, in that we’re doing a show and that’s not lost on me,” Cline explains. “We’re not doing the same set list every night, but it is a rock 'n' roll show, and so I have parts that I play and I have certain funny things that I tend to do over and over again, even though no one’s asked me to.
"It’s kind of going with what works and, collectively, we’ve discussed how odd that can be, to look at a person during a song at the same time every night for some reason you’ll never understand. You kinda check in. So, these things become onstage rituals and this is definitely not the case when we’re playing my music or improvising with somebody. But they inform each other in the sense that, I think the audience that comes to hear Wilco has become, to some extent, curious about what I do outside of Wilco and it’s enhanced the size of my audience at gigs.
"When I play, thank goodness that at least half the audience is curious Wilco fans. Things aren’t quite as barren as they once were. I’m not selling any more records than I ever was but I’m not selling fewer, which these days is kind of an odd success.”
For Kotche, exploring his own music is a rather liberating experience. Playing in a six-man ensemble like Wilco necessitates certain artistic compromises and conversations that he finds useful, but he also needs an outlet to go his own scenic routes. Ironically, he finds he has the most time to be alone while he’s with his band.
“When I’m touring with Wilco, it’s probably my most productive time ever,” Kotche says. “I’ve got a couple of small children and a lot of responsibilities at home. When I’m on the road, Wilco plays a few hours a night, there’s soundcheck, but I do have a lot of downtime and that’s when I get most of my writing and composing done for the other groups that I collaborate with. I like the balance. I like playing with a group after being holed up in a bus or hotel room all day, hermetically working on a composition. It’s a nice transition for me.”
At the Guelph Jazz Festival, Cline and Kotche will be performing a duo set of their own, Cline will be part of ROVA's Electric Ascension, and he and Kotche will join a band from Norway called Huntsville, whom they’ve worked with before in both a live setting and in the Wilco loft studio.
“They’re one of my favourite groups, frankly,” Cline says. “They’re, to me, one example of what I would say is a large number of creative individuals working in Oslo these days.”
“They’re just great individuals and a great band,” Kotche says. “It’s improv but I love their approach. They do it within parameters but they’re not afraid to set up rhythmic beds to improvise over. I just think they’re incredibly creative players and they’re so easygoing. We always have a blast playing with each other. They tread this ground where it’s an improv show but there’s a lot for the audience to grab onto.”
As for their top-billed duo performance, Cline and Kotche have made few plans. Aside from a tour of the U.S. together, where they each did solo sets with minimal collaboration, they’ve only played improvised music together in Chicago and at a jazz festival in Melbourne, Australia. The Guelph show is unchartered territory and Cline, for one, is hoping to enjoy the ride.
“I think one can expect to hear and see a lot of Glenn’s rather wondrous experimentation with timbre and actual percussion creations,” he says. “He’s prepared and modified drums and percussion instruments to his own ends and I will just try and keep up with that.”
“I’m not gonna let that happen,” Kotche chuckles. “I’ll just sit there on my hands until he starts! I think we’ll both be listening to each other; I’m definitely not going to be taking a leader’s role in this. It’s going to be dual improv. I don’t even know what gear I’m going to bring. I’m just going to make it truly an improvised night and then see what happens and hopefully explore and have some fun.”
“We’ll see,” Cline adds coyly. “I’ll be listening, let’s put it that way.”
See Nels Cline and Glenn Kotche at the Guelph Jazz Festival on Thursday, Sept. 6, and Friday, Sept. 7.
Cline and Kotche each had more to say about Wilco's future plans and their own solo pursuits.
To hear the full conversation with Nels Cline, you have two options. You can download an MP3 if you right-click and “Save target as.” Or to stream it, press play.
To hear the full conversation with Glenn Kotche, same deal. You can download an MP3 if you right-click and “Save target as.” Or to stream it, press play.
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