Introducing Cliff Hines

In 2013, I reviewed Wanderlust and interviewed Cliff Hines for Blogcritics. The links to the original articles on Blogcritics no longer exist, but I will reference the Seattle Post Intelligencer, who reprinted the review and interview, parts one and two.

I will share what I did then, only editing one paragraph lightly because it references Amazon offering samples of the music and this is no longer available. A lot of the original formatting from the articles, like underlining or linking names, has also been removed for this reposting.

Part of my review is featured on Cliff Hines’ website about page.

Review

Wanderlust, the sophomore album by progressive jazz guitarist/composer Cliff Hines, is imbued with the multicultural spirit of New Orleans; a poetic musical odyssey that, by its own publicity campaign, "defies convention and categorization."

I hail from a musical family, where our parties routinely include everyone breaking out guitars or ukuleles and various instruments and jamming/singing at the end of the night. I've visited New Orleans, where music is more than just a way of communicating beyond language, but a means of joining together disparate cultures as kin. When musicians take to the street with their instrument(s), there are crowds dancing, humming, pulling out their own instrument—the music invites participation, celebration—and all the barriers like self-consciousness, class, or any concerns one might have, fall away. How can anyone not belong in the world of this music, this exploration and exaltation of life through melody?

That said, while Wanderlust is eclectic and, for me, an acquired taste, it is true New Orleans music. It broke through barriers to get under my skin, and every time I listened to the album, I discovered something new in the arrangement. I woke up thinking about it, and hummed some refrains throughout the day. It called me to listen "one more time." It's no wonder so many musicians (veterans and newcomers alike) came together for this project, including James Singleton, Bill Summers, Kent Jordan, Dave Easley, Helen Gillet, Khris Royal, Ashlin Parker, Mike Watson, Rex Gregory, Sam Craft, and Jack Craft.

In the end, Wanderlust lives up to its own description as an album about the world today, with its conglomeration of cultures in touch with one another through the digital age, yet where people are separated on a spiritual level from their true selves. Wanderlust weaves an "electro-acoustic blend. Afro-Caribbean, Brazilian, African, Spanish, European classical, Middle Eastern, Indian, American swing (both of the southern and northern varieties), hip-hop, rock, and electronic/experimental," says 20-year music industry veteran Jason Paul Harman Byrne, of Red Cat Publicity (the publicist behind Wanderlust).

Like poetry, Wanderlust is bound to be interpreted differently by others; it may even fall under the love-hate proposition of some poetic works. (The title track, "Wanderlust" is itself a poem—check out the pamphlet in the inside flap for the lyrics.)

I recommend potential buyers to visit Hines' website or check out "Dresden" (official music video). There is a short concert (1 hour) on YouTube as well, though I did not watch it. You can also purchase Wanderlust as an MP3 download, album, or listen to it with Amazon Music Unlimited.

Sasha Maskowski's vocals embrace a broad range of qualities, and tie the album together; her harmonies with Hines are lovely (though her final refrain from "The Path of Arjuna" of "tell me now what I must do" got on my nerves.) Occasionally I was reminded of Yanni's Live at the Acropolis, particularly the song "Aria," in the way that Ms. Maskowski could tell stories without words through her emotional pitch.

Hines' other band members are drummer Paul Thibodeaux, bassist Jasen Weaver, and pianist Andrew McGowan, each brilliantly talented.

My favorite tracks were "Tehran," "Aetherea," "Lonely Moon," and "Clouds," for their exquisite music and for what they brought out in me (depth of emotions ranging from bittersweet, peace, joy, kinship, and wonder).

"Brothers," "Dresden," and "The Path of Arjuna" are acquired tastes. They're thought-provoking multi-hued tapestries of sound, eliciting a deeper appreciation of the musical grace with each listen. "Dresden" has a subtle dance between electronic disturbance and eloquent melodies that kept drawing me in.

No matter how many times I listened, I still do not like "Wanderlust" and "Interzone." The spoken words got swallowed by the music (except for an emphatic "no more, no mas" in "Interzone" which I eventually came to mute) and the rhythms just didn't connect with me. It felt like oil and water. I usually love African beats, but I could not bring myself to enjoy "Wanderlust." I've got a natural affinity with Spanish music but I was turned off by "Interzone"—like poetry, so go figure.

Each musician brings to the table something from their heart about our culture today, alternating seamlessly between the mournful, the hopeful, the playful and the questioning. The variety and crafting of instrumentals was, on the whole, delightful, as if I had been invited into the camaraderie of a jam session. Wanderlust is a vast experience for one sitting. It has to be savored, and it welcomes participation, not so much in terms of dancing or breaking out instruments, but in thought and connection with others.

Interview

Part One: Composer and Co-Mastermind of Wanderlust

After reviewing Wanderlust for Blogcritics I had the chance to interview the co-mastermind behind the music, Cliff Hines. (I consider Ian Painter to be the other co-mastermind, per Cliff's interview.)

Your first album Like Mystics of Old was dedicated to all of your teachers, "past, present and future". Wanderlust appears to be dedicated to the tapestry of cultures and experiences of today (with your note on the inside flap of the CD). What inspired you to create Wanderlust?

Like Mystics of Old was a collection of jazz songs I had written up to that point. There was only one song I had actually written for the [Cliff Hines] Quintet, "Pastels"; the rest were songs I had written when I was younger ("Mystic" was one of the first songs I ever wrote) and were re-interpreted through the lens of the new band. After Like Mystics of Old, I was left with a blank slate and had a very active and inspired writing period. A lot of songs had to do with what I was reading at the time. For "Dresden" I had been reading Kurt Vonnegut, "Interzone" was about Naked Lunch, and "The Path of Arjuna" was about the Bhagavad-Gita.

A lot of songs were also inspired by current events, with "Tehran" about the Arab Spring and "Clouds" about the recent disaster in Japan. Musically, I've always been influenced by other styles of world music. There was a good amount of world traveling on our first record ("Nova" was Brazilian, "Tippy Toes" was Afro-Cuban, "Like Mystics of Old" was African) but had more of an electronic fusion sound to it. For Wanderlust I wanted to capture a more earthy and acoustic sound, with the electronics serving as texture instead of form, and focus more on the element of genre-blending.

That must have made recording very interesting. What was that process like?

It all began with a weekend-long session with just the Quintet, with my co-producer and engineer Ian Painter at the helm. We recorded all of the songs with no effects. Instead of creating sound textures with my pedals (as I would do live), I wanted to use the studio as an effect instead. We called some of our favorite local musicians and friends to come in one by one and add a little bit of their flavor to the record.

How did you gather together so many legends and fresh-on-the-scene musicians?

A lot of the people on the record were old friends and collaborators. Khris Royal used to be the fifth member of the Quintet (he plays EWI, sax, and keys on Like Mystics of Old). Rex Gregory plays sax and keys in my rock side-project "Zosimus" and has occasionally filled in with the Quintet. Helen Gillet, Simon Lott II (who has also filled in for a Zosimus show), Jack Craft, and Sebastian Figueroa have all performed on various tribute shows of mine. James Singleton and I have done various improvised concerts together. Oddly enough, I met Kent Jordan through the school system. I was working as a substitute teacher at Lusher, where he is the head of the Jazz department.

Wow, so if everyone came in one by one, how did you create the final result of simulating the ultimate jam session? Were there any songs that were improvised in the spirit of a jam?

There were two songs on the record that were completely improvised, "Dresden Intro" and "Arjuna Intro". "Arjuna" was an interplay between Dave Easley on slide-guitar (mimicking a sitar), Andrew McLean on tablas, and me (I was creating a drone sound using an ebow on my guitar and a loop pedal, while still improvising with the other two). "Dresden Intro" was interesting because Andrew McGowan's and Helen Gillet's parts were improvised independently of each other.

Because of all of the layers [of the various musicians coming in one-by-one] that ended up on the record, this [aspect of the recording] was a very time-consuming process. Many days were spent with me and Ian brainstorming new concepts to try for the record and experimenting with new sounds. A lot of Wanderlust's digital noises were courtesy of local drummer Simon Lott II who spent a day recording his cymbals and drums processed through his own rig of pedals. Then Ian and I would sample the sounds and try to fit them into the piece tastefully.

It came together quite well. What is your favorite part of improvising?

It should always be about the music as a whole. I like my songs to be amorphous and open to change. I like to be surprised every night. I like to try and create sounds I've never heard before.

Perhaps that's how you create a sense of fluidity to your tapestry of sound. How do you compose and "weave" such a vast array of music?

Practice, practice, practice. I feel like I am more of a composer than I am a guitarist. I actually have the next three or four records already written out. I have some serious catching up to do studio-wise. One of my techniques as a composer is that I try not to write anything down until it's time to teach it to someone. My philosophy is this: if I can't remember it, then it wasn't worthwhile in the first place. This is a great memory exercise, and it keeps my compositions to a high standard.

That also means you can't "lose" your work, since it's always with you. As the composer and band leader, how involved are you in the production process for music videos, concerts/shows and your albums?

I am always heavily involved in the production of my various projects. For "Pastels" I worked very closely with The Greenhouse Collective (Zac Manuel, Painter, and Chris Haney) in the development process. I helped with nearly every aspect (from rigging the giant white canvas, painting the instruments and clothes white, etc.). For our new music video "Dresden", the process was quite different. Animator Tahnee Gehm is a recent graduate of CalArts. She and I had never actually met, but I really liked her work and reached out to her about the project. She and I spent a lot of time sending ideas back and forth and brainstorming the overall concept via phone and email.

It seems you have a vast appreciation for the many facets of making it in the music industry. How has alternating between the varied perspectives of producer, teacher, composer, and musician strengthened you as an artist?

I definitely consider myself a composer first. I feel like that is my mission on Earth. Composers are some of the greatest musicians on the planet; they are the ones who have the greatest sense of melody. If someone can't write a decent song, how are they supposed to play a decent solo? Teaching is one of the greatest lessons a musician can learn. In order to explain a concept, you have to understand it deeply. You can't teach something that you only have a cursory knowledge of. Teaching forces you to be truly confident in what you know, and what you don't know. As a producer, I became a much better listener. Production teaches you to be aware of the smallest details. It also strengthened my knowledge of textures and sounds. Music is so much more than notes, after all.

Yes, definitely. It's those kind of details that must have come into play when you masterminded three tribute shows (to Prince, David Bowie, and Radiohead), replete with costumes, effects and lots of musicians. What were some of the biggest challenges you encountered with this trio of talent?

The tribute concerts were a lot of work. Not only were we assembling a band of 15-20 super-busy musicians, but we have to learn two sets of music from prolific artists in the time of a month. I transcribed all of the music that we played and served as Musical Director for each.

All three of those artists have a very unique voice and are heavily influential musicians. For these shows, my goals were to study them and try to encapsulate their performances. Musically, the songs of each aren't very easy, so that was also a huge challenge. The biggest challenge of all, however, was scheduling rehearsals.

That would be quite intense. How did you organize everything?

Sleep was sacrificed. The transcription work was pretty daunting, but once I got into a good workflow, everything came together smoothly. Rehearsals were difficult though because we had to accommodate for everyone's differing schedules. Oftentimes that meant that I would have to have several rehearsals a week just to get a little bit of time in with each guest artist. Luckily, everyone else was willing to make sacrifices, too. That's the only way it came together in the end.

Teamwork is definitely the only way to make it in these creative industries (or any profession, really). Was the creation of your band "logo" also a team project? What is the significance of it, with each of the band members sporting different face paintings?

The logo is a concept of Ian's. He took those pictures to promote the upcoming music video shoot for "Pastels". We wanted to play with the paint element of the music video as well as the tribal/world element to our music. Ultimately it served to be very representative of our sound on Wanderlust but that wasn't the original intention.

It's a brilliant way to encapsulate music as diverse as yours. All the members of your quintet hail from various heritages, and of course you're based in New Orleans. How much of this multicultural environment and heritage influences your music?

Growing up in New Orleans, you can't help but bathe in it. On any given night, you can listen to live music spanning a diverse range of styles (if you know where to look). New Orleans musicians are very versatile because they're always asked to play different styles of music. Because we all have a little knowledge in these various areas, I try to be as authentic as possible when incorporating various genres.

Authenticity is really important with creative projects. In what way have you gathered resources and strength from working in New Orleans (and with such organizations as Live Music NOLA)?

There is a huge degree of brotherhood and camaraderie in the New Orleans music scene not only between the musicians but between the various local organizations. My collaborations with the Greenhouse Collective, Live Music NOLA, and the Positive Vibrations Foundation have always been mutually beneficial. Working together is the only way to get anywhere in this world, and tackling the music industry is no easy feat.

Part Two: The Composer, Musician, Teacher, and Trendsetter

In this portion of the interview, Cliff shares his perspective as a teacher, advice for those new to the music industry, more on New Orleans and the influences that have shaped his life and music. This is someone to keep an eye on, because for all he's accomplished, I sense he's just getting started.

Your first album was out before you had turned 21. What is your advice to young musicians just starting out?

Practice, practice, practice. When you start touring, you won't have the free time you had when you were younger. Focus on developing your sound and the rest will come. Also, try to write something new every day.

Thanks for your insight. It seems you've made the most of your collaborations, and you've also taught as a substitute teacher, and for three years as a guitar instructor at NOCCA [New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts]. You were quoted in "School's Out for These UNO-Educated Jazz Musicians" by Aaron Lafont as saying "As a teacher now, I'd like to think that I'm a link in the chain. I try to reflect the education I was given and the values my teachers instilled in me, the ways they taught and the ways they helped me find myself. That's what jazz is. That's what New Orleans is." Tell us more about your specific methods of teaching.

I try to keep it interesting for the student. My favorite teachers didn't try to shove anything down my throat, they presented me with information I wanted to learn. A student isn't going to learn anything unless they're interested so that's the true challenge of teaching. I also learned a lot from developing the ability to sing as I improvise, and I try to teach all of my students that technique.

What a cool technique! In "Barryfest's Live Picks: 10.20.2011 - 10.26.2011" by Taylor Gray, Mr. Gray wrote: "At this point it should be pretty obvious that the primary driving force behind the young classically-schooled guitar mega-talent known as Cliff Hines is a ceaseless desire to test not only the limits of his own musical faculties, but those of every musician around him." Is this a mindset you apply to your students?

I'm known for the complexity of my music so I'm always testing the musicians around me. With students I try not to present them with anything that they're not ready to learn. I want to challenge them, but I don't want them to get ahead of themselves by missing out on something more important and fundamental. I did, however, teach my song "Clouds" to the NOCCA guitar ensemble, which is certainly one of our most difficult songs.

Congratulations! Is teaching in your future? Will you perhaps offer individual mentorships, substitute for a summer, or put together workshops online or via YouTube or anything like that?

Teaching is definitely in my future. For the time being I'm going to focus on touring and spreading the word, but when my touring calms down I'll return to teaching. I've thought about doing Skype lessons, but it's really hard to play music together with your student via the Internet. There can be a lot of time delay. Perhaps I can pre-record some lessons for YouTube when I have some time.

That sounds awesome. You graduated from NOCCA and UNO [University of New Orleans] with a degree in Jazz studies. How has your education influenced your musical career?

I feel that NOCCA and UNO gave me the tools that I needed as an improviser, but gave me the freedom to find my own path as a musician. They also introduced me to the musicians that I still play with today. The complexity of my music wouldn't be possible without the theory that I learned at both, but the challenge is to try and make it singable and catchy. That can't be taught in a classroom.

It's a fine balance between life-practice and textbook theory. On the point of New Orleans-it's been roughly eight years since Katrina, and almost three years since the devastating BP oil spill-when I visited New Orleans last year, there was still much that needed rebuilding. Where do you feel New Orleans is today?

New Orleans is in the midst of a Renaissance. Its culture's influence in America is bigger than ever. Not only is it now known as Hollywood South (more movies are shot there than either Los Angeles or New York City), so many great musicians have been migrating there, including recent winner of the Thelonious Monk drum competition Jamison Ross. So the music is also at an all-time level of quality.

I'm excited to hear that. Thank you for sharing that perspective. What other influences have shaped your life and music?

I hate to admit it: video games. I'm a huge Final Fantasy nerd. Nobuo Uematsu was a very influential composer for me; his songs are my favorite video game soundtracks. There's also a song on Like Mystics of Old called "Dance of the Cleyrans" that is inspired by Final Fantasy 9.

(Hail, fellow nerd! I've found there a lot more nerds in the world that let on, or that we would think, so you're in good company.) You brought up your band "Zosimus" earlier. How and when did you start that "rock side-project"?

"Zosimus" actually came first. There were many different line-ups, but ultimately the band dates back to seventh grade. It was a trio with my buddies Max Moran and Nick Hughes that was tentatively titled "Fourstripe". Most of the songs in our repertoire are songs that I wrote in high school. The current line-up features Max Moran and Joe Dyson (the rhythm section for Donald Harrison and their group "The Bridge Trio") and saxophonist/keyboardist Rex Gregory. After I'm done touring in support of Wanderlust I plan to do a tour/album with "Zosimus" before getting to work on the third Quintet record.

Wow, I'm sure your fans will be thrilled with all your upcoming music. So when and how did your current quintet come together as a band?

We all knew each other from studying at NOCCA during high school. The band started out as a trio between Paul Thibodeaux, Martin Masakowski, and I. Soon Sasha and Khris started playing shows with us and we began forming a sound as a band. Shortly before the release of our first record, Martin ended up moving to Rotterdam as an exchange student and Khris's own band "Dark Matter" was taking off. That's when bassist Jasen Weaver and pianist Andrew McGowan, whom we also studied with at NOCCA, joined the band and the new quintet formed.

The music industry is fluid in that way. You're also the bassist/guitarist/keyboard player for "The Mike Dillon Band" and your debut album Urn just came out last September. How do you juggle these various creative (and logistic) pursuits?

I'm still learning. Mike has been keeping us super busy! It's exciting how much momentum "The Mike Dillon Band" has. We're also already working on our second record. I haven't even been in the band for a whole year yet! Basically I'm constantly on the road these days. I actually just completed the Wanderlust release tour and recently flew back to California from Texas to join back up with Mike for a West Coast run with "The Marco Benevento Trio".

Congratulations! Your music has led to lots of travel, from France to Texas. How has this experience with other cultures influenced your music and attitude towards others?

Even though I've traveled quite a bit, there are still so many places that I want to go to. Obviously, this literal wanderlust was one of the main inspirations for the new record. I feel that growing up in New Orleans fosters tolerance and curiosity of other cultures. Being the port city that it is, so many different parts of the world have traveled through and left their mark on the city. Traveling to Vienna was wonderful because I got to see where my family was from.

Was there anything you learned about your heritage, the land or the culture that brought aspects of your life into a new light?

Oddly enough, Europe's love of electronic music inspired me to write one of the heavier songs in our repertoire (the aptly titled song "Austria" from the upcoming third Quintet record). I was walking down the street in Innsbruck and I heard a dance beat that got stuck in my head and then became the jumping off point for my new song. I was also studying the music of Vienna's classical period and ended up writing a few songs in that style. One of the songs was a piano waltz that I wrote for my grandmother who passed away during my trip. Perhaps one day I'll work up the nerve to write an entire album of "classical" songs. I also got to experience Oom-Pah-Pah music firsthand. I'm pretty sure I won't be writing anything in that style though.

***

Mr. Hines has since released twelve projects, so it would be too much for the scope of this post to listen and comment on any of them. He also became a professor of Digital Music Production for the University of New Orleans from 2017-2019.