Photo: neonwar / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Nels Cline is one of those guitarists I keep circling back to. He came up in the Los Angeles jazz scene of the 1980s, often alongside his twin brother, then refused to stay in any single lane, crossing into punk and alternative rock before joining Wilco in 2004. That fearless disregard for genre boundaries is what makes him so compelling to me. He can summon walls of noise or whisper the most delicate phrase, and his curiosity has never dimmed with age. I admire artists who treat a single instrument as an endless frontier, and Cline plays like there is always more terrain to explore.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Nels Cline
- Name (Japanese)
- ネルス・クライン
- Reading
- ねるす・くらいん
- Born
- January 4, 1956 (age 70)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Capricorn / Monkey
- Origin
- Los Angeles, California, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- composer / guitarist / jazz musician / jazz guitarist / musician
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- University High School
- University
- University High School
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Nels Cline born?
Born January 4, 1956 (age 70).
Where is Nels Cline from?
Nels Cline is from Los Angeles, California, United States.
What does Nels Cline do?
Nels Cline works as composer, guitarist, jazz musician, jazz guitarist, musician.
Composer — see all → · Guitarist — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-21
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.