On the acoustic piano Uri Caine prefers to turn great composers like Gustav Mahler and Ludwig van Beethoven inside out. It were these interpretations, adaptations and deconstructions that put this remarkable musician on the map. Less known, but equally thrilling, are Caine’s electric and electronic explorations. The
Uri Caine Bedrock Trio, featuring bassist/guitarist Tim Lefebvre and drummer Zach Danziger, tosses the listener to and fro between hardcore funk and mesmerizing Aphex Twin oriented dance music. Without the shadow of a doubt Caine owes his open-mindedness to his parents: they didn’t just give him a broad musical education, but also taught him to appreciate other forms of culture. Especially the piano lessons he received from the French educationalist Bernard Pfeiffer, were to be of decisive importance. Pfeiffer didn’t just teach him how to play the piano, but also pointed out the possibilities that music in general could offer. To each lesson he had to bring a new piece that, together, they dismantled rhythmically, harmonically and melodically, in order to transform it into a brand-new composition. That approach, that can also be heard on his latest recording
Shelf-Life, has, more or less, become Caine’s trademark.
