Wonderful stuff, 08 Sep 2006
There is little to add to Klingsor Tristan's review, except that I wholeheartedly concur - this is wonderful, sensitive playing of fine arrangements. The recording is good, the atmosphere invigorating, and my feeling as I listen through this disc is a growing sense of joy, culminating with a deeply moving Lohengrin overture. Wonderful.

Unique slant on familiar music, 06 Jun 2005
How on earth do you categorise a disc like this? Wagner himself used to moan about walking into St. Mark's Square in Venice and having to acknowledge execrable performances, usually of his Rienzi Overture, played by the local bands outside the cafes.

The performances on this disc are anything but execrable. But otherwise the situation is much the same. This is a band, playing outside a cafe in St. Mark's Square in Venice, with all the ambient sounds going on around.

That said, I have to admit to a huge affection for this recording - and that from a devoted and purist devotee of the Meister's works for many years. Uri Caine is a phenomenon. His recordings of Mahler, of Bach's Goldbergs and Beethoven's Diabellis are ear-opening, shifting and changing the original material to cast new light on the composers' works. I believe they are always respectful, despite including outrageously bluesy versions of some of the Goldbergs, for example, or sharp, acrid Klezmer views of Mahler.

These Wagner arrangements, however, are relatively straight, given the accordion-led cafe band instruments available. And the music is played without send-ups or irony - judicious tempos are chosen throughout and the instrumentations always enhances the music played.

And then city adds moving touches of its own - cafe society hums along with the Pilgrims' Chorus from Tannhauser, the Venetian church bells add their clamour to the climax of the Meistersinger Overture. Caine and his group are afraid of nothing. Forget 'Apocalypse Now': you simply haven't experienced the Ride of the Valkyries till you've heard it played by a small cafe band in the open air in St. Mark's Square.

I would urge you to listen to this disc with an open mind. Chances are you will either love it or hate it. If you've ever been to Venice, the odds for loving it probably improve. I find it very moving in its integrity to the composer's intentions, despite its remoteness from what he had in mind for this music, as well as in its evocation of place. Remember, this was a city that Wagner loved and where he died.

Amid the plethora of Bach discs released in 2000 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the composer's death comes something truly original, groundbreaking even, from New York jazz performer and arranger Uri Caine and his band. Having already explored the music of composers including Mahler and Schumann, Caine has turned his attention to Bach and the seminal Goldberg Variations. He is, of course, not the first musician to link the improvisatory skills of Baroque musicians with those of jazz players, but the 70-plus tracks on this two-CD release go way beyond mere extemporisation. Caine takes Bach's music both back in time (with the help of a gamba quartet and lute), into the future (string quartet, tango, minimalism, klezmer, jazz) and to the dawn of the 21st century (ambient dance with DJs Olive and Logic). The keyboard remains central--Caine starts off on fortepiano and goes on to play piano, harpsichord, electronic keyboards and Hammond organ--as do baroque forms, such as variation, cannon, quodlibet and chorale. Caine even finds time to pay homage to a number of other composers, namely Rachmaninov, Vivaldi, Verdi, Mozart and Handel. From the serene opening to some of the way-out variations along the way there is never a dull moment on this beautifully presented release, which will fascinate and entertain many throughout repeated listenings. --Rebecca Agnew

Wonderful stuff, 08 Sep 2006
There is little to add to Klingsor Tristan's review, except that I wholeheartedly concur - this is wonderful, sensitive playing of fine arrangements. The recording is good, the atmosphere invigorating, and my feeling as I listen through this disc is a growing sense of joy, culminating with a deeply moving Lohengrin overture. Wonderful.

Unique slant on familiar music, 06 Jun 2005
How on earth do you categorise a disc like this? Wagner himself used to moan about walking into St. Mark's Square in Venice and having to acknowledge execrable performances, usually of his Rienzi Overture, played by the local bands outside the cafes.

The performances on this disc are anything but execrable. But otherwise the situation is much the same. This is a band, playing outside a cafe in St. Mark's Square in Venice, with all the ambient sounds going on around.

That said, I have to admit to a huge affection for this recording - and that from a devoted and purist devotee of the Meister's works for many years. Uri Caine is a phenomenon. His recordings of Mahler, of Bach's Goldbergs and Beethoven's Diabellis are ear-opening, shifting and changing the original material to cast new light on the composers' works. I believe they are always respectful, despite including outrageously bluesy versions of some of the Goldbergs, for example, or sharp, acrid Klezmer views of Mahler.

These Wagner arrangements, however, are relatively straight, given the accordion-led cafe band instruments available. And the music is played without send-ups or irony - judicious tempos are chosen throughout and the instrumentations always enhances the music played.

And then city adds moving touches of its own - cafe society hums along with the Pilgrims' Chorus from Tannhauser, the Venetian church bells add their clamour to the climax of the Meistersinger Overture. Caine and his group are afraid of nothing. Forget 'Apocalypse Now': you simply haven't experienced the Ride of the Valkyries till you've heard it played by a small cafe band in the open air in St. Mark's Square.

I would urge you to listen to this disc with an open mind. Chances are you will either love it or hate it. If you've ever been to Venice, the odds for loving it probably improve. I find it very moving in its integrity to the composer's intentions, despite its remoteness from what he had in mind for this music, as well as in its evocation of place. Remember, this was a city that Wagner loved and where he died.

Dazzling performance, 06 Jun 2003
Creative, flamboyant, irreverent yet always respectful of the true spirit of Bach's original, Caine has clearly had lots of fun making this record, which will leave you stunned and just as amused. The quality of the recording is absolutely fantastic, even on the most sophisticated equipment it will sound flawless.

This is a fantastic new look at the Goldberg Variations, 05 Dec 2001
I loved this reworking of the Goldberg Variations. Quite stunning and innovative. For me better than the original - which is saying something.

Uri Caine Ensemble's Golden Variations, 18 Jul 2000
Uri Caine's latest work is a reworking of Bach's well-known 32 Goldberg Variations, presented as 72 variations played beautifully on an old-fashioned piannola type instrument (not sure what the name of the instrument is). Each piece is quite short and each subsequent variation introduces a change in mood and tempo. Additionally the artist has added variations of his own using different instruments and vocals. The result is a soothing yet uplifting piece of music which I really enjoyed hearing. The use of the piannola instrument is preferable to the piano rendition of the same piece, as played by Gould for instance. If you liked Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" you will like this! Presented as a double CD, playing time over 2 hours.

Wonderful stuff, 08 Sep 2006
There is little to add to Klingsor Tristan's review, except that I wholeheartedly concur - this is wonderful, sensitive playing of fine arrangements. The recording is good, the atmosphere invigorating, and my feeling as I listen through this disc is a growing sense of joy, culminating with a deeply moving Lohengrin overture. Wonderful.

Unique slant on familiar music, 06 Jun 2005
How on earth do you categorise a disc like this? Wagner himself used to moan about walking into St. Mark's Square in Venice and having to acknowledge execrable performances, usually of his Rienzi Overture, played by the local bands outside the cafes.

The performances on this disc are anything but execrable. But otherwise the situation is much the same. This is a band, playing outside a cafe in St. Mark's Square in Venice, with all the ambient sounds going on around.

That said, I have to admit to a huge affection for this recording - and that from a devoted and purist devotee of the Meister's works for many years. Uri Caine is a phenomenon. His recordings of Mahler, of Bach's Goldbergs and Beethoven's Diabellis are ear-opening, shifting and changing the original material to cast new light on the composers' works. I believe they are always respectful, despite including outrageously bluesy versions of some of the Goldbergs, for example, or sharp, acrid Klezmer views of Mahler.

These Wagner arrangements, however, are relatively straight, given the accordion-led cafe band instruments available. And the music is played without send-ups or irony - judicious tempos are chosen throughout and the instrumentations always enhances the music played.

And then city adds moving touches of its own - cafe society hums along with the Pilgrims' Chorus from Tannhauser, the Venetian church bells add their clamour to the climax of the Meistersinger Overture. Caine and his group are afraid of nothing. Forget 'Apocalypse Now': you simply haven't experienced the Ride of the Valkyries till you've heard it played by a small cafe band in the open air in St. Mark's Square.

I would urge you to listen to this disc with an open mind. Chances are you will either love it or hate it. If you've ever been to Venice, the odds for loving it probably improve. I find it very moving in its integrity to the composer's intentions, despite its remoteness from what he had in mind for this music, as well as in its evocation of place. Remember, this was a city that Wagner loved and where he died.

Dazzling performance, 06 Jun 2003
Creative, flamboyant, irreverent yet always respectful of the true spirit of Bach's original, Caine has clearly had lots of fun making this record, which will leave you stunned and just as amused. The quality of the recording is absolutely fantastic, even on the most sophisticated equipment it will sound flawless.

This is a fantastic new look at the Goldberg Variations, 05 Dec 2001
I loved this reworking of the Goldberg Variations. Quite stunning and innovative. For me better than the original - which is saying something.

Uri Caine Ensemble's Golden Variations, 18 Jul 2000
Uri Caine's latest work is a reworking of Bach's well-known 32 Goldberg Variations, presented as 72 variations played beautifully on an old-fashioned piannola type instrument (not sure what the name of the instrument is). Each piece is quite short and each subsequent variation introduces a change in mood and tempo. Additionally the artist has added variations of his own using different instruments and vocals. The result is a soothing yet uplifting piece of music which I really enjoyed hearing. The use of the piannola instrument is preferable to the piano rendition of the same piece, as played by Gould for instance. If you liked Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" you will like this! Presented as a double CD, playing time over 2 hours.

Caine's mark, 04 Mar 2003
Uri Caine loves great classical music. He also loves jazz. He also loves klezmer. And there is dance music on his Goldberg variations. The Diabelli Variations is Uri Caine at the tamest that I have heard him: he has reigned in his wild imagination, and presented a disc that you can play to the straightlaced without their getting offended at his 'ruining it.' He begins briskly on fortepiano, and then, with the first variation comes the orchestra, which sounds so natural and 'right' that you won't care Beethoven's work was for solo piano. And so it goes from there...

Beethoven has fun in his work, most notably in the 'notte e giorno faticar' variation. I believe he alludes to more, but I'm not that clever at spotting it. Caine has fun in his variations on the variations, and manages to allude to much more (that I'm aware of), including the Eroica, the fifth symphony, the ninth symphony and the moonlight sonata. And he sneezes.

He actually never digresses very far from the original, which makes it all seem so much more witty and postmodern. Some reviewers of Caine's work conclude that they prefer him to the original Mahler, Bach, Beethoven or whatever. I should be cautious making such statements - ironically, it wouldn't quite be comparing like with like - but the fact that he has the temerity to alter the greats and not be demonized for it is a fairly staggering praise, which I concur with. So, my advice? Caine's work will not replace your standard Diabelli variations, but will stand next to it with a straight back, and no hunching of the shoulders, the way the film Clueless and the book Emma can sit on the same shelf, complementing and complimenting one another. Pick up this work by Caine if you're abel, but don't feel obliged to kill for it (ho ho!).

Wonderful stuff, 08 Sep 2006
There is little to add to Klingsor Tristan's review, except that I wholeheartedly concur - this is wonderful, sensitive playing of fine arrangements. The recording is good, the atmosphere invigorating, and my feeling as I listen through this disc is a growing sense of joy, culminating with a deeply moving Lohengrin overture. Wonderful.

Unique slant on familiar music, 06 Jun 2005
How on earth do you categorise a disc like this? Wagner himself used to moan about walking into St. Mark's Square in Venice and having to acknowledge execrable performances, usually of his Rienzi Overture, played by the local bands outside the cafes.

The performances on this disc are anything but execrable. But otherwise the situation is much the same. This is a band, playing outside a cafe in St. Mark's Square in Venice, with all the ambient sounds going on around.

That said, I have to admit to a huge affection for this recording - and that from a devoted and purist devotee of the Meister's works for many years. Uri Caine is a phenomenon. His recordings of Mahler, of Bach's Goldbergs and Beethoven's Diabellis are ear-opening, shifting and changing the original material to cast new light on the composers' works. I believe they are always respectful, despite including outrageously bluesy versions of some of the Goldbergs, for example, or sharp, acrid Klezmer views of Mahler.

These Wagner arrangements, however, are relatively straight, given the accordion-led cafe band instruments available. And the music is played without send-ups or irony - judicious tempos are chosen throughout and the instrumentations always enhances the music played.

And then city adds moving touches of its own - cafe society hums along with the Pilgrims' Chorus from Tannhauser, the Venetian church bells add their clamour to the climax of the Meistersinger Overture. Caine and his group are afraid of nothing. Forget 'Apocalypse Now': you simply haven't experienced the Ride of the Valkyries till you've heard it played by a small cafe band in the open air in St. Mark's Square.

I would urge you to listen to this disc with an open mind. Chances are you will either love it or hate it. If you've ever been to Venice, the odds for loving it probably improve. I find it very moving in its integrity to the composer's intentions, despite its remoteness from what he had in mind for this music, as well as in its evocation of place. Remember, this was a city that Wagner loved and where he died.

Dazzling performance, 06 Jun 2003
Creative, flamboyant, irreverent yet always respectful of the true spirit of Bach's original, Caine has clearly had lots of fun making this record, which will leave you stunned and just as amused. The quality of the recording is absolutely fantastic, even on the most sophisticated equipment it will sound flawless.

This is a fantastic new look at the Goldberg Variations, 05 Dec 2001
I loved this reworking of the Goldberg Variations. Quite stunning and innovative. For me better than the original - which is saying something.

Uri Caine Ensemble's Golden Variations, 18 Jul 2000
Uri Caine's latest work is a reworking of Bach's well-known 32 Goldberg Variations, presented as 72 variations played beautifully on an old-fashioned piannola type instrument (not sure what the name of the instrument is). Each piece is quite short and each subsequent variation introduces a change in mood and tempo. Additionally the artist has added variations of his own using different instruments and vocals. The result is a soothing yet uplifting piece of music which I really enjoyed hearing. The use of the piannola instrument is preferable to the piano rendition of the same piece, as played by Gould for instance. If you liked Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" you will like this! Presented as a double CD, playing time over 2 hours.

Caine's mark, 04 Mar 2003
Uri Caine loves great classical music. He also loves jazz. He also loves klezmer. And there is dance music on his Goldberg variations. The Diabelli Variations is Uri Caine at the tamest that I have heard him: he has reigned in his wild imagination, and presented a disc that you can play to the straightlaced without their getting offended at his 'ruining it.' He begins briskly on fortepiano, and then, with the first variation comes the orchestra, which sounds so natural and 'right' that you won't care Beethoven's work was for solo piano. And so it goes from there...

Beethoven has fun in his work, most notably in the 'notte e giorno faticar' variation. I believe he alludes to more, but I'm not that clever at spotting it. Caine has fun in his variations on the variations, and manages to allude to much more (that I'm aware of), including the Eroica, the fifth symphony, the ninth symphony and the moonlight sonata. And he sneezes.

He actually never digresses very far from the original, which makes it all seem so much more witty and postmodern. Some reviewers of Caine's work conclude that they prefer him to the original Mahler, Bach, Beethoven or whatever. I should be cautious making such statements - ironically, it wouldn't quite be comparing like with like - but the fact that he has the temerity to alter the greats and not be demonized for it is a fairly staggering praise, which I concur with. So, my advice? Caine's work will not replace your standard Diabelli variations, but will stand next to it with a straight back, and no hunching of the shoulders, the way the film Clueless and the book Emma can sit on the same shelf, complementing and complimenting one another. Pick up this work by Caine if you're abel, but don't feel obliged to kill for it (ho ho!).

Twenty Years, 15 Nov 2008
Twenty years this has sat on my shelf and I have taken it down from time to time, given it a spin, thought it was OK, then put it away. A respectable album. Really great percussion from Trilok Gurtu, superb bass from Kai Eckhart. John, well John is just John. He's always amazing but somehow I'd heard him do better, particularly in the old Shakti heydays.

This year I took it down, gave it a spin and it completely blew my socks off. How could it have taken me so long to realise I was listening to a masterpiece? I guess I just wasn't listening hard enough all those previous times, and by that I mean I wasn't listening to the guitar and appreciating it for the miracle that it is. I think it was in the end because I hadn't got my head round John's guitar synth pallette. He uses a lot of organ like tones that don't have the attack of the guitar. This seems to confound expectation somehow, and it just took a long while before I could hear these sounds in their own right. Once done though I could see the same old genius shining through.

I have started to buy my way through the McClaughlin 80s/90s catalogue as a result. I also must make the effort to see what Gurtu went on to do because what he was doing here was completely new at the time.

Live music doesn't come much better, 13 Feb 2006
Brilliant!! Top performances from accomplished musicians. Bathe in this rich sultry sound of Indian/Jazz fusion. If you can't get to a rare performance buy this CD, dim the lights and emerse yourself.

Dave Douglas excels at many, many things. On the small, intimate themes featured on the breathtakingly delicate Charms of the Night Sky, he plays as if his horn were made of crystal. Earlier efforts such as In Our Lifetime or his work in John Zorn's Masada prove that the trumpeter is comfortable facing both wide-open solo horizons and driving, blow-the-house-down horn stomps. On Wandering Souls, however, Douglas and his Tiny Bell Trio (with Brad Shepik on guitar and Jim Black on drums) appear to be caught in the middle of a record without an easily graspable theme. Some songs wander, some roar, some skirt the Eastern European themes of Night Sky, but taken as a whole, this is an album featuring Douglas but without the clearly defined "center" of a Dave Douglas album. --S. Duda

Wonderful stuff, 08 Sep 2006
There is little to add to Klingsor Tristan's review, except that I wholeheartedly concur - this is wonderful, sensitive playing of fine arrangements. The recording is good, the atmosphere invigorating, and my feeling as I listen through this disc is a growing sense of joy, culminating with a deeply moving Lohengrin overture. Wonderful.

Unique slant on familiar music, 06 Jun 2005
How on earth do you categorise a disc like this? Wagner himself used to moan about walking into St. Mark's Square in Venice and having to acknowledge execrable performances, usually of his Rienzi Overture, played by the local bands outside the cafes.

The performances on this disc are anything but execrable. But otherwise the situation is much the same. This is a band, playing outside a cafe in St. Mark's Square in Venice, with all the ambient sounds going on around.

That said, I have to admit to a huge affection for this recording - and that from a devoted and purist devotee of the Meister's works for many years. Uri Caine is a phenomenon. His recordings of Mahler, of Bach's Goldbergs and Beethoven's Diabellis are ear-opening, shifting and changing the original material to cast new light on the composers' works. I believe they are always respectful, despite including outrageously bluesy versions of some of the Goldbergs, for example, or sharp, acrid Klezmer views of Mahler.

These Wagner arrangements, however, are relatively straight, given the accordion-led cafe band instruments available. And the music is played without send-ups or irony - judicious tempos are chosen throughout and the instrumentations always enhances the music played.

And then city adds moving touches of its own - cafe society hums along with the Pilgrims' Chorus from Tannhauser, the Venetian church bells add their clamour to the climax of the Meistersinger Overture. Caine and his group are afraid of nothing. Forget 'Apocalypse Now': you simply haven't experienced the Ride of the Valkyries till you've heard it played by a small cafe band in the open air in St. Mark's Square.

I would urge you to listen to this disc with an open mind. Chances are you will either love it or hate it. If you've ever been to Venice, the odds for loving it probably improve. I find it very moving in its integrity to the composer's intentions, despite its remoteness from what he had in mind for this music, as well as in its evocation of place. Remember, this was a city that Wagner loved and where he died.

Dazzling performance, 06 Jun 2003
Creative, flamboyant, irreverent yet always respectful of the true spirit of Bach's original, Caine has clearly had lots of fun making this record, which will leave you stunned and just as amused. The quality of the recording is absolutely fantastic, even on the most sophisticated equipment it will sound flawless.

This is a fantastic new look at the Goldberg Variations, 05 Dec 2001
I loved this reworking of the Goldberg Variations. Quite stunning and innovative. For me better than the original - which is saying something.

Uri Caine Ensemble's Golden Variations, 18 Jul 2000
Uri Caine's latest work is a reworking of Bach's well-known 32 Goldberg Variations, presented as 72 variations played beautifully on an old-fashioned piannola type instrument (not sure what the name of the instrument is). Each piece is quite short and each subsequent variation introduces a change in mood and tempo. Additionally the artist has added variations of his own using different instruments and vocals. The result is a soothing yet uplifting piece of music which I really enjoyed hearing. The use of the piannola instrument is preferable to the piano rendition of the same piece, as played by Gould for instance. If you liked Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" you will like this! Presented as a double CD, playing time over 2 hours.

Caine's mark, 04 Mar 2003
Uri Caine loves great classical music. He also loves jazz. He also loves klezmer. And there is dance music on his Goldberg variations. The Diabelli Variations is Uri Caine at the tamest that I have heard him: he has reigned in his wild imagination, and presented a disc that you can play to the straightlaced without their getting offended at his 'ruining it.' He begins briskly on fortepiano, and then, with the first variation comes the orchestra, which sounds so natural and 'right' that you won't care Beethoven's work was for solo piano. And so it goes from there...

Beethoven has fun in his work, most notably in the 'notte e giorno faticar' variation. I believe he alludes to more, but I'm not that clever at spotting it. Caine has fun in his variations on the variations, and manages to allude to much more (that I'm aware of), including the Eroica, the fifth symphony, the ninth symphony and the moonlight sonata. And he sneezes.

He actually never digresses very far from the original, which makes it all seem so much more witty and postmodern. Some reviewers of Caine's work conclude that they prefer him to the original Mahler, Bach, Beethoven or whatever. I should be cautious making such statements - ironically, it wouldn't quite be comparing like with like - but the fact that he has the temerity to alter the greats and not be demonized for it is a fairly staggering praise, which I concur with. So, my advice? Caine's work will not replace your standard Diabelli variations, but will stand next to it with a straight back, and no hunching of the shoulders, the way the film Clueless and the book Emma can sit on the same shelf, complementing and complimenting one another. Pick up this work by Caine if you're abel, but don't feel obliged to kill for it (ho ho!).

Twenty Years, 15 Nov 2008
Twenty years this has sat on my shelf and I have taken it down from time to time, given it a spin, thought it was OK, then put it away. A respectable album. Really great percussion from Trilok Gurtu, superb bass from Kai Eckhart. John, well John is just John. He's always amazing but somehow I'd heard him do better, particularly in the old Shakti heydays.

This year I took it down, gave it a spin and it completely blew my socks off. How could it have taken me so long to realise I was listening to a masterpiece? I guess I just wasn't listening hard enough all those previous times, and by that I mean I wasn't listening to the guitar and appreciating it for the miracle that it is. I think it was in the end because I hadn't got my head round John's guitar synth pallette. He uses a lot of organ like tones that don't have the attack of the guitar. This seems to confound expectation somehow, and it just took a long while before I could hear these sounds in their own right. Once done though I could see the same old genius shining through.

I have started to buy my way through the McClaughlin 80s/90s catalogue as a result. I also must make the effort to see what Gurtu went on to do because what he was doing here was completely new at the time.

Live music doesn't come much better, 13 Feb 2006
Brilliant!! Top performances from accomplished musicians. Bathe in this rich sultry sound of Indian/Jazz fusion. If you can't get to a rare performance buy this CD, dim the lights and emerse yourself.

Superb and Intricate Trio, 04 Nov 2001
Dave Douglas plays in many different settings but this trio is one of the most attractive for straight jazz fans. Each player plays a key role and although Douglas is undoubtedly the star, Shepik on guitar and the extraordinary Black on drums, make this date so special. Douglas has an extraordinary technique and seems to reach perfect notes effortlessly. Apart from jazz, there is a Balkan flavour to this album and a Schubert song even makes an appearance.

With Holiday For Strings, Motian has further refined the distinctive sound of his Electric Bebop Band. The drummer's line-up may have changed over the last decade, but the mission continues. Motian wants to avoid pushy solos, putting matching musicians in separate speakers. He's got Chris Cheek and Pietro Tonolo (switching between tenor and soprano saxophones) as well as guitarists Ben Monder and Steve Cardenas, all deeply devoted to the art of flotation. One guitarist will pick out a fluid phrase, immediately shadowed by his partner. Then they'll exchange dominant roles, emerging and receding in the ongoing current. The leader's drums and Andres Christensen's bass circle around each other, horns displaying static patterns of brightness, guitars dappling in unison. It's like a relaxed continuation of the interlocking itchiness explored by Ornette Coleman's Prime Time.

Motian's compositions for this album are not particularly diverse. Rather, he's intent on accumulating a series of textures and tones, shaping a single mood of soothing balm. "Look to the Black Wall" comes closest to some kind of bebop feel--swift, detailed and dramatic. He also subjects a trio of standards to the same process, with Cardenas contributing a more agitated expression on his own "Roundup". Motian skitters and splashes around the edges of each tune, only contributing one short drum solo during "Endgame". He makes it count. --Martin Longley

Wonderful stuff, 08 Sep 2006
There is little to add to Klingsor Tristan's review, except that I wholeheartedly concur - this is wonderful, sensitive playing of fine arrangements. The recording is good, the atmosphere invigorating, and my feeling as I listen through this disc is a growing sense of joy, culminating with a deeply moving Lohengrin overture. Wonderful.

Unique slant on familiar music, 06 Jun 2005
How on earth do you categorise a disc like this? Wagner himself used to moan about walking into St. Mark's Square in Venice and having to acknowledge execrable performances, usually of his Rienzi Overture, played by the local bands outside the cafes.

The performances on this disc are anything but execrable. But otherwise the situation is much the same. This is a band, playing outside a cafe in St. Mark's Square in Venice, with all the ambient sounds going on around.

That said, I have to admit to a huge affection for this recording - and that from a devoted and purist devotee of the Meister's works for many years. Uri Caine is a phenomenon. His recordings of Mahler, of Bach's Goldbergs and Beethoven's Diabellis are ear-opening, shifting and changing the original material to cast new light on the composers' works. I believe they are always respectful, despite including outrageously bluesy versions of some of the Goldbergs, for example, or sharp, acrid Klezmer views of Mahler.

These Wagner arrangements, however, are relatively straight, given the accordion-led cafe band instruments available. And the music is played without send-ups or irony - judicious tempos are chosen throughout and the instrumentations always enhances the music played.

And then city adds moving touches of its own - cafe society hums along with the Pilgrims' Chorus from Tannhauser, the Venetian church bells add their clamour to the climax of the Meistersinger Overture. Caine and his group are afraid of nothing. Forget 'Apocalypse Now': you simply haven't experienced the Ride of the Valkyries till you've heard it played by a small cafe band in the open air in St. Mark's Square.

I would urge you to listen to this disc with an open mind. Chances are you will either love it or hate it. If you've ever been to Venice, the odds for loving it probably improve. I find it very moving in its integrity to the composer's intentions, despite its remoteness from what he had in mind for this music, as well as in its evocation of place. Remember, this was a city that Wagner loved and where he died.

Dazzling performance, 06 Jun 2003
Creative, flamboyant, irreverent yet always respectful of the true spirit of Bach's original, Caine has clearly had lots of fun making this record, which will leave you stunned and just as amused. The quality of the recording is absolutely fantastic, even on the most sophisticated equipment it will sound flawless.

This is a fantastic new look at the Goldberg Variations, 05 Dec 2001
I loved this reworking of the Goldberg Variations. Quite stunning and innovative. For me better than the original - which is saying something.

Uri Caine Ensemble's Golden Variations, 18 Jul 2000
Uri Caine's latest work is a reworking of Bach's well-known 32 Goldberg Variations, presented as 72 variations played beautifully on an old-fashioned piannola type instrument (not sure what the name of the instrument is). Each piece is quite short and each subsequent variation introduces a change in mood and tempo. Additionally the artist has added variations of his own using different instruments and vocals. The result is a soothing yet uplifting piece of music which I really enjoyed hearing. The use of the piannola instrument is preferable to the piano rendition of the same piece, as played by Gould for instance. If you liked Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" you will like this! Presented as a double CD, playing time over 2 hours.

Caine's mark, 04 Mar 2003
Uri Caine loves great classical music. He also loves jazz. He also loves klezmer. And there is dance music on his Goldberg variations. The Diabelli Variations is Uri Caine at the tamest that I have heard him: he has reigned in his wild imagination, and presented a disc that you can play to the straightlaced without their getting offended at his 'ruining it.' He begins briskly on fortepiano, and then, with the first variation comes the orchestra, which sounds so natural and 'right' that you won't care Beethoven's work was for solo piano. And so it goes from there...

Beethoven has fun in his work, most notably in the 'notte e giorno faticar' variation. I believe he alludes to more, but I'm not that clever at spotting it. Caine has fun in his variations on the variations, and manages to allude to much more (that I'm aware of), including the Eroica, the fifth symphony, the ninth symphony and the moonlight sonata. And he sneezes.

He actually never digresses very far from the original, which makes it all seem so much more witty and postmodern. Some reviewers of Caine's work conclude that they prefer him to the original Mahler, Bach, Beethoven or whatever. I should be cautious making such statements - ironically, it wouldn't quite be comparing like with like - but the fact that he has the temerity to alter the greats and not be demonized for it is a fairly staggering praise, which I concur with. So, my advice? Caine's work will not replace your standard Diabelli variations, but will stand next to it with a straight back, and no hunching of the shoulders, the way the film Clueless and the book Emma can sit on the same shelf, complementing and complimenting one another. Pick up this work by Caine if you're abel, but don't feel obliged to kill for it (ho ho!).

Twenty Years, 15 Nov 2008
Twenty years this has sat on my shelf and I have taken it down from time to time, given it a spin, thought it was OK, then put it away. A respectable album. Really great percussion from Trilok Gurtu, superb bass from Kai Eckhart. John, well John is just John. He's always amazing but somehow I'd heard him do better, particularly in the old Shakti heydays.

This year I took it down, gave it a spin and it completely blew my socks off. How could it have taken me so long to realise I was listening to a masterpiece? I guess I just wasn't listening hard enough all those previous times, and by that I mean I wasn't listening to the guitar and appreciating it for the miracle that it is. I think it was in the end because I hadn't got my head round John's guitar synth pallette. He uses a lot of organ like tones that don't have the attack of the guitar. This seems to confound expectation somehow, and it just took a long while before I could hear these sounds in their own right. Once done though I could see the same old genius shining through.

I have started to buy my way through the McClaughlin 80s/90s catalogue as a result. I also must make the effort to see what Gurtu went on to do because what he was doing here was completely new at the time.

Live music doesn't come much better, 13 Feb 2006
Brilliant!! Top performances from accomplished musicians. Bathe in this rich sultry sound of Indian/Jazz fusion. If you can't get to a rare performance buy this CD, dim the lights and emerse yourself.

Superb and Intricate Trio, 04 Nov 2001
Dave Douglas plays in many different settings but this trio is one of the most attractive for straight jazz fans. Each player plays a key role and although Douglas is undoubtedly the star, Shepik on guitar and the extraordinary Black on drums, make this date so special. Douglas has an extraordinary technique and seems to reach perfect notes effortlessly. Apart from jazz, there is a Balkan flavour to this album and a Schubert song even makes an appearance.

standards with attitude, 23 Mar 2004
Do not be put off by the play list that looks nothing but a mix of standards - including Gershwin, Rogers and Hammerstein, Jerome Kern and titles such as 'Nice Work if You Can Get It', 'All the Things You Are' and 'I Got Rhythm' - but the playing is anything but. As leader, Paul Motian keeps a well balanced and tight ensemble and never succumbs to the temptation to dominate from behind his drum kit. Bill Frissel on electric guitar provides a stream of everchanging modes from funky, straight rock to elegaic ballad all played with a crystaline simplicity. While Joe Lovano brings a swinging easy style to 'I Got Rhythm'. It would be easy to resort to ironic playfullness when encountering such hoary pieces; instead all the players recognise just how good the music is and bring a freshness that underlines and confirms the quality. Charlie Haden provides a firm foundation throughout and a light fingered bouncy introduction to 'Nice Work.'. The recording is very forward and finely balances each instrument with wonderful clarity - nothing is lost.