Uri Caine

Early years

The son of Burton Caine, a professor at Temple Law School, Caine began playing piano at seven and studied with French jazz pianist Bernard Peiffer at 12. He later studied at the University of Pennsylvania, 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 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 Plays the Music of Mickey Katz, 1993) and other recordings with modern jazz musicians Don Byron and Dave Douglas, among many others.

Later years

Caine has recorded 16 mostly classical albums. His 1997 jazz tribute to Gustav Mahler received an award from the German Mahler Society, while outraging some jury members. Caine has also reworked Bach's Goldberg Variations, Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, as well as music by Wagner, Schumann and Mozart.

In 2009, Caine was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Classical Crossover Album for his work "The Othello Syndrome", re-imagining the Verdi opera Otello as a modern piece featuring soul singer Bunny Sigler.

He was Composer-in-Residence of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra from 2005-2009. He became a United States Artists Fellow in 2010. He was Composer-in-Residence at Mannes College for 2013–2014 .

The Bedrock Project and other collaborations

In 2001, he teamed up with drummer Zach Danziger to conceive an original project fusing live jungle and drum 'n' bass beats with fusion jazz called "Uri Caine Bedrock 3". They have toured worldwide, including with the New York-based DJ Olive.

Also in 2001, he released with drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson of The Roots and Christian McBride an album called The Philadelphia Experiment which contains jazz, funk, instrumental hip hop and jazz fusion. This album was produced by Aaron Levinson and features collaborations such as Pat Martino on guitar and Jon Swana on trumpet.

In 2006, he recorded an album of composition from John Zorn's second Masada book called Moloch: Book of Angels Volume 6. In November 2012, Caine collaborated with drummer Han Bennink to release a live album entitled Sonic Boom. In 2008 he was special guest of the Italian jazz awards red carpet show in Genoa (Italy) at Teatro della Tosse.

As leader/co-leader

As sideman

With Dave Douglas

With Frank London

With Zohar

With John Zorn