Uri Caine (born June 8, 1956,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, United States) is an American classical and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

pianist and composer.

Biography

Early years

The son of Burton Caine, a professor at

Temple Law School The Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law is the law school of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1895 and enrolls about 530 students. Student body Admission for fall 2019 entering class was highly comp ...

, and poet Shulamith Wechter Caine, Caine began playing piano at seven and studied with French jazz pianist

Bernard Peiffer Bernard Peiffer (''pie-fer'') (23 October 1922 – 7 September 1976) was a French jazz pianist, composer, and teacher. His nickname was "Le Most", for his piano skills. Life Born in Épinal, France, Peiffer was raised in a musical family, wit ...

at 12. He later studied at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, where he came under the tutelage of George Crumb. He also gained a greater familiarity with classical music in this period and worked at clubs in Philadelphia. Caine played professionally after 1981, and by 1985 had his recording debut with the Rochester-

Gerald Veasley Gerald Veasley (born July 28, 1955) is an American jazz bass guitarist. Veasley was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he played in R&B groups as a teenager. He worked with Joe Zawinul from 1988 to 1995, and began releasing hi ...

band. In the 1980s, he moved to New York City, where he continues to live. His solo recording debut was in 1992. He also appeared on a klezmer album (

Don Byron Donald Byron (born November 8, 1958) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He primarily plays clarinet but has also played bass clarinet and saxophone in a variety of genres that includes free jazz and klezmer. Biography His mother w ...

Plays the Music of

Mickey Katz Meyer Myron "Mickey" Katz (June 15, 1909 – April 30, 1985) was an American musician and comedian. He was the father of actor Joel Grey and paternal grandfather of actress Jennifer Grey. Early life Meyer Myron Katz was born on Sawtell Court in ...

, 1993) and other recordings with modern jazz musicians

and Dave Douglas, among many others.

Later years

Caine has recorded 16 mostly classical albums. His 1997 jazz tribute to

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

received an award from the German Mahler Society, while outraging some jury members. Caine has also reworked

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

's ''

Goldberg Variations The ''Goldberg Variations'', BWV 988, is a musical composition for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an aria and a set of 30 variations. First published in 1741, it is named after Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who may also have ...

'',

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

's ''

Diabelli Variations The ''33 Variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli'', Op. 120, commonly known as the ''Diabelli Variations'', is a set of variations for the piano written between 1819 and 1823 by Ludwig van Beethoven on a waltz composed by Anton Diabelli. It for ...

'', as well as music by

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

and

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

. He was Composer-in-Residence of the

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) is an American chamber orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. LACO presents its Orchestral Series concerts at two venues, the Alex Theatre in Glendale and UCLA's Royce Hall. History James Arkatov, a ...

from 2005-2009. He became a

United States Artists United States Artists (USA) is a national arts funding organization based in Chicago. USA is dedicated to supporting living artists and cultural practitioners across the United States by granting unrestricted awards. Mission The organization' ...

Fellow in 2010. In 2012 he performed with the Armenian State Chamber Orchestra in

Yerevan, Armenia Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

, and, in 2013-2014, was Composer-in-Residence at

Mannes College Mannes School of Music is a music conservatory in The New School, a private research university in New York City. In the fall of 2015, Mannes moved from its previous location on Manhattan's Upper West Side to join the rest of the New School ca ...

The Bedrock Project and other collaborations

In 2001, he teamed up with drummer Zach Danziger to conceive an original project fusing live

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅ ...

and

drum 'n' bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

beats with

fusion jazz Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and keyb ...

called "Uri Caine Bedrock 3". They have toured worldwide, including with the New York-based

DJ Olive DJ Olive (also known as The Audio Janitor; born Gregor Asch) is an American disc jockey and turntablist. He is known for producing music generally in the electronic genre, with strong influences of dub, and free improvisation styles. He is wide ...

. Also in 2001, he released with drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson of

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

and

Christian McBride Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972) is an American jazz bassist, composer and arranger. He has appeared on more than 300 recordings as a sideman, and is an eight-time Grammy Award winner. McBride has performed and recorded with a number of j ...

an album called '' The Philadelphia Experiment'' which contains jazz, funk, instrumental hip hop and jazz fusion. This album was produced by

Aaron Levinson Aaron Levinson (born July 2, 1963) is a Grammy award-winning producer, musician, composer and record label owner He has produced and released dozens of albums since starting his career with Inner City Records in 1981Range Recording Studios, Staf ...

and features collaborations such as

Pat Martino Pat Martino (born Patrick Carmen Azzara; August 25, 1944 – November 1, 2021) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Biography Martino was born Patrick Carmen Azzara in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, to father Carmen "Mickey" ...

on guitar and Jon Swana on trumpet. In 2006, he recorded an album of composition from

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...

's second

Masada Masada ( he, מְצָדָה ', "fortress") is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau, akin to a mesa. It is located on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the Dea ...

book called '' Moloch: Book of Angels Volume 6''. In November 2012, Caine collaborated with drummer

Han Bennink Han Bennink (born 17 April 1942) is a Dutch drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured him playing soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, trombone, violin, banjo and piano. Though perhaps best known as one of the pivotal fig ...

to release a live album entitled ''Sonic Boom''. In 2008 he was special guest of the Italian jazz awards red carpet show in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

(Italy) at Teatro della Tosse.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

As sideman

With

*''

Don Byron Plays the Music of Mickey Katz ''Don Byron Plays the Music of Mickey Katz'' is an album by clarinetist Don Byron featuring music associated with comedian and musician Mickey Katz which was released on the Nonesuch label in 1993. Reception The Allmusic review by Bob Tarte sta ...

'' (Nonesuch, 1993) With Dave Douglas * '' In Our Lifetime'' (

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

, 1995) * '' Stargazer'' (

Arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...

, 1997) * '' Soul on Soul'' (RCA, 2000) * ''

The Infinite Infinity is that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol . Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions amo ...

'' (RCA, 2001) * '' Strange Liberation'' (

Bluebird The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. ...

, 2004) * '' Meaning and Mystery'' ( Greenleaf, 2006) * '' Live at the Jazz Standard'' (Greenleaf, 2006) With Forma Antiqva *''Antonio Vivaldi: The Four Seasons'' (Winter & Winter, 2011) With

Frank London Frank London (born 1958 in New York) is an American klezmer trumpeter who also plays jazz and world music. Early life London was born to a Reform Jewish family and grew up in New York and Connecticut. He started playing the trumpet in fourt ...

* ''Nigunim'' (Tzadik, 1998) With Zohar * ''Keter'' (

Knitting Factory The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States. The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...

, 1999) With

* '' Voices in the Wilderness'' (Tzadik, 2003) * '' Moloch: Book of Angels Volume 6'' (Tzadik, 2006) * '' Filmworks XXI: Belle de Nature/The New Rijksmuseum'' (Tzadik, 2008) * '' Stolas: Book of Angels Volume 12'' (Tzadik, 2009) - Masada Quintet featuring

Joe Lovano Joseph Salvatore Lovano (born December 29, 1952)"Joe Lovano." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 13. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 1994. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, May 5, 2017. is an American jazz saxophonist, alto clarin ...

References

External links

*
BBC Radio 2Uri Caine: Musical Midrashist"In Conversation with Uri Caine"
by Ted Panken, Jazz.com
Live concert recording, Madrid, May 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caine, Uri 1956 births Living people Avant-garde jazz musicians American jazz pianists American male pianists Jewish American musicians Musicians from Philadelphia Pew Fellows in the Arts Alessa Records artists Jewish jazz musicians 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania American male jazz musicians Winter & Winter Records artists JMT Records artists Tzadik Records artists Blue Note Records artists Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy alumni 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American Jews