If you heard the music of Cliff HInes without seeing his picture or knowing anything about him, you might envision a graying music veteran who had seen his share of late nights in smoky jazz clubs over the years. Yet at the tender age of 20, he is not even old enough to get into those clubs in some states.  There is, however, a maturity in his guitar playing and composing skills beyond his years.  At the same time, Cliff also displays an edge of inventiveness and sonic experimentation that is youthful and fresh.

Drawing inspiration from the world-class jazz mecca of New Orleans, Cliff Hines began his musical journey early in life and explored violin, piano, and drums, before making guitar his major focus at the age of 12. In high school he studied jazz at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts and immersed himself in bebop, big band, and modern. Now, not many years later he is an adjunct guitar teacher at that school, and continues his jazz studies at the University Of New Orleans.

While his musical talents encompass many sub-genres, including being the leader of an avant-rock band called Zosimus, the music he plays with his quintet on “Like Mystics of Old” is contemporary jazz that would appeal to fans of an artist like Pat Metheney, who not surprisingly, Cliff sites as one of his influences.  Joining him on this musical oddesey is an extremely talented group of fellow travelers including Sasha Masakowski on vocals, drummer Paul Thibodeaux, bassist Martin Masakowski, and Khris Royal on sax and EWI, which stands for electronic wind instrument and is like a flute or horn synthesizer.

The album opens with some softly strummed guitar and Sasha’s free-form wordless vocals – a style she reprises often on the recording, and which brings to mind the great Brazilian jazz singer Flora Purim. While some of the songs have lyrics, Sasha leans towards the aforementioned airy vocalizations, and her role in the group is sometimes more supportive than out front, although she definitely does provide a strong musical presence at many points on the album.  Not long after the intro, the rest of the band kicks in with a funky groove and they are off and running.

The second tune, “Pastels”, is one of my favorites and begins with the band showing a bit of their more experimental side, utilizing some cool electronic effects in a jazzy context. While Cliff is well schooled in traditional styles, he is also quite adept at using digital effects processors and throws some interesting guitar textures into the mix, as does Khris Royal who creates trippy synthesizer-like sounds on his instrument in addition to laying down some tasty and innovative solos. I also really enjoyed the next song, “Nova”, with its’ Brazilian influences, which make themselves felt a bit throughout the album.  Jazz-rock fusion elements are also present on songs like “Tippy Toes” and “Dance Of The Cleyrans,” that reminded me somewhat of classic Chick Corea and Return To Forever from the ‘70’s.  A song called “The Pacifier” kicks off with a drum lead-in by Paul Thibodeaux, whose outstanding playing continued to impress me on every song. Paul is soon joined by Martin Masakowski who shines on a smoking bass solo later in the tune.

The group as a whole is remarkably tight and I was often entranced by the melodic interweaving of Cliff and Khris’s playing and Sasha’s vocals, with the percolating rhythm section of Martin and Paul propelling everything along. This is not cocktail jazz meant to set a mood in the background. The Cliff Hines Quintet creates music that is engaging and draws the listener in to hear what will happen next. The fact that they are all so young makes it even more amazing. As a jazz lover, this album was a treat to listen to, full of stellar playing and unexpected little twists and surprises, all of which lead me to give this CD an enthusiastic recommendation.

 Reviewed By Michael Diamond

Michael Diamond, Reviews Cliff Hines, Like Mystics of Old