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Jazz pianist/composer Uri Caine brings an eclectic array of disciplines and influences to his music. His own Jewish heritage, his classical and jazz training, and his interest in electronics combine in ambitious hybrids that are often challenging but always inventive. Caine grew up in an intellectual, open-minded family in Philadelphia. His father, a law professor at Temple University, and his mother, a poet and professor at Drexel, ensured the best musical education possible for their son, having him study with French expatriate pianist Bernard Peiffer. Over their four years of study together, Peiffer taught Caine not only piano technique but the possibilities of music. Each week, Caine brought a new composition to his lesson; teacher and pupil then deconstructed and reformed its melody, harmonies, and structure into entirely different directions. Along with listening to Herbie Hancock and Oscar Peterson, this rigorous study with Peiffer introduced Caine to jazz theory. Caine wa...