Uri Caine Plays Mozart

Uri Caine Ensemble (Artist), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Audio CD (February 13, 2007)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Winter & Winter
• ASIN: B000IY043G
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,393 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Jazz pianist/composer Uri Caine adapts works by the great classical composers, applying a wide range of musical styles from jazz and soul to klezmer and drum `n' bass. A fascinating sound experience features great solos by Joyce Hammann, Chris Speed, Ralph Alessi, Nguyên Lê (his debut recording with Caine), DJ Olive, Drew Gress, Jim Black, and Caine himself. Mozart lives on!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Soaring, October 15, 2007

By 

J. J. Love - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Uri Caine Plays Mozart (Audio CD)

I agree that the music is phenomonal. The entire ensemble works well both with and off each other, sharing the wide but focused canvas of musical possibility, without getting in each other's way. I also like the return to the solo Caine throughout the disc. For me, the packaging material matches the soaring heights of art attained on the disc. I like the feel of real paper and embossed craft and the tasteful abstract art inside as opposed to your run-of-the-mill hard breakable plastic--there is nothing plastic about URi's Caine's music and his packaging should, as it does, reflect that. Hats off to Winter & Winter, and to the Trio.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I agree ..sorta, April 22, 2007

By 

Patrick S. Beaty "eclectickindaguy" (Dallastown, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Uri Caine Plays Mozart (Audio CD)

I agree with the previous review, I love how this group of musicians led by Uri are rearranging this old music, personally, I like some of the noise effects, I agree whole heartedly with the packaging comments, everytime I buy one of their products I get annoyed with their packaging!

5.0 out of 5 stars Who else ever heard Mozart this way?, December 7, 2010

By 

Scott K. Deveaux "jazz prof" (Charlottesville, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Uri Caine Plays Mozart (Audio CD)

Uri Caine's recordings undoubtedly infuriate many people in the classical music world. That's because he violates one of the clearest boundaries: performers shall *not* mess with the notes in the score. Yet the jazz world operates by different principles. Caine--who was trained at Penn, and studied with George Rochberg--grew up with classical music, and obviously enjoys it thoroughly. So if he wants to play it like a jazz musician--or more precisely, like a New York experimental jazz musician--who is to say that he cannot?

Of the many Caine forays into classical music, this is one of the most joyous. There's a playful quality to Mozart that seems to be unlocked by the kind of musical trickery Caine and his musicians apply. Just listen to the first track--Caine's version of the famous 1st movement of the C major piano sonata. He *knows* the music. He's also unafraid to play within it. If you love both classical and jazz, you will hear in this a perfect fusion of the two. I have to admit that some of the New York stuff (i.e., the sound sculptures of DJ Olive) push the boundaries of enjoyment a bit far. But the overall quality of the musicians' contributions is brilliant. I especially like Joyce Hamann's violin (light, flexible, and always helping to keep the focus on Mozart) and Nguyen Le's electric guitar sound (fat, bluesy, and always helping to push Mozart in unfamiliar directions). Overall, this is a brilliant and highly entertaining experiment that works.