Search - Uri Caine :: Mahler: Urlicht - Primal Light / Caine, Bensoussan, et al.

Mahler taken back to his roots

Jeff Abell | Chicago, IL USA | 01/11/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Gustav Mahler described himself as "thrice homeless: as a Bohemian among Germans, as a German in Austria, and as a jew throughout the world." While that may have summed up Mahler well at the end of the 19th century, at the end of the 20th, we call that kind of thing "multicultural," and see it as a strength. Uri Caine recognizes that strength, and his renditions of Mahler's music reveal the roots of the composer's style, in the waltzes and marches of his native Bohemia, in Jewish klezmer music, in the chanting of kantors, as well as the art-music ambience of Vienna. Caine and his outstanding band (special kudos to Don Byron's clarinet in particular) provide a window into Mahler's music that illuminates it even as it distorts it. If you really know your Mahler, you'll find this recording a revelation. Moreover, you'll never again be able to listen to the Mahler 5th, for example, without hearing the klezmer elements in the 2nd theme. And the fact that one of the "Songs of a Wayfarer" works perfectly as breezy tune that might have been penned by Chick Corea implies how far Mahler's influence reaches into the 20th century. As a Mahler afficianado, I adored this; but I suspect that friends who don't know Mahler's work, but who like John Zorn and Carla Bley, are going to dig this as well. Call it Post-Modern, call it an outrage, call it a gas! (And the packaging is as beautiful as the tunes.)"

Raising Caine?

Bruce Brownlee | Malden, MA | 12/28/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well, we seem to have a bit of a disagreement below. I hope that I may be able to clarify for those considering this purchase. I am an enthusiastic, if a bit less than fully obsessed, Mahlerite, as well as being a longtime jazzophile. I am also quite skeptical in general of jazz treatments of classical themes; they tend either to be overly reverential (which doesn't prevent their being mediocre) or to simplify the source music (for easier improvisation) to the point where one must question the use of the theme at all. This, to my mind, is an exception. But you must bear that what I like is not always, or even often, what most enthusiasts of jazz OR classical music tend to like. (I'm not inordinately discriminating in my aesthetic judgments, just fussy.) I would venture to suggest that Mahlerians with little interest in jazz would be quite horrified by this recording (as indeed an acquaintance of mine was.) Further, I'd say that fans of contemporary jazz, especially the "downtown" scenesters -- Zorn, Douglas, et al. -- will love this regardless of their taste for classical music. And, as one reviewer noted below, even those who consider Mahler to be an old bloat, but who like challenging jazz, will probably admire this disc. And is Uri Caine one of the most interesting jazz pianists (and arrangers) in decades, or what? His Wagner CD is extraordinary, too, although similar cautions to those cited above (and below) apply."

What a strange, strange recording

Carla Killetti | 12/08/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I so desperately wanted to hate this recording. Upon looking at the line-up (which includes a DJ and a guitarist!), I wanted to listen to this recording and write a virulent, bile-filled review of it.However, it's brilliant.Uri Caine, manages to distill Mahler's music down to its very core. Sounds strange and daunting, and this is definitely quite a task, but Caine succeeds. The pain, the longing of Mahler's symphonies comes out here, as does his Semitic influences (which are often covered-up in his orchestrations).It's odd, but by playing Mahler's music with unusual arrangements and lineups, Caine is showing us a "pure" Mahler...he's removing the introduction, the body, and the conclusion, and giving us the thesis statement...and some really awesome improvised solos.This is a triumph for the avant-garde, and for Mahler. He would have approved."