Solitaire

by Uri Caine

Overview

Solitaire, the first solo piano album by Uri Caine, is a tour de force. Recorded "with no processing" at Schloss Elmau in Germany, the disc was released in tandem with Bedrock and Rio (about as diverse a trilogy as can be imagined, and one that underscores the scope of Caine's visionary musicianship). The piano on Solitaire sounds fabulous, with the kind of pure, natural echo that truly evokes a concert hall experience. Caine starts out swinging with "Say It in French" and makes profoundly bluesy, boppish statements with "Beartoes" and "Snort." He maneuvers deftly between bright diatonic themes ("Roll On," "Country Life") and bracing modalism ("The Call," "Anaconda") and between rubato contemplation ("As I Am," "Sonia Said," "Inhaling You") and busy, clustery harmonic bursts ("Twelve"). Even "Blackbird," by far the most overplayed song in the Lennon and McCartney catalog, sounds fresh in Caine's hands. So does the Jimmy Van Heusen chestnut "All the Way." Caine has shown that he can think big, combining Mahler and turntables and such. Here, with nothing but 88 keys to work with, he makes music as electrifying as anything in his catalog. ~ David R. Adler

Product Details

Release Date:	03/05/2002
Label:	Winter & Winter
UPC:	0025091007523
Rank:	221091

Tracks

1. Say It in French
2. As I Am
3. Roll On
4. Sonia Said
5. Beartoes
6. Inhaling You
7. Hamsin
8. Solitaire
9. The Call
10. Snort
11. All the Way
12. Twelve
13. Blackbird
14. Anaconda
15. Country Life

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Uri Caine   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Paul McCartney   Composer
John Lennon   Composer
Robert Lewis   Cover Photo
Uri Caine   Composer
Adrian von Ripka   Engineer
Stefan Winter   Producer
Sammy Cahn   Composer
Steve Byram   Design,Artwork
Peter Postel   Prints
James Van Heusen   Composer