5/2/17:</br>Mike Boone | Uri Caine
Favorite sons.
Mike Boone came from New York. Uri Caine left for New York.
Philadelphia proudly claims them both. Stablemates back in the day, they meet again here @exuberance after 20 years!
Nobody works more or harder than Boone. The odd night he’s not booked, he’ll announce the fact on Facebook to correct the lapse. He’s been the town’s go-to bassist for years—intensely present, driving, tenacious, and right on time always. But on a dime he solos, switching from back to foreground, and you see/hear another side of Mike—the inventive, soaring, courageously lyrical one.
It’s a diverse scene of streams, players and venues in Philadelphia and Mike is connected to them all. Among musicians a mentor, supporter, collaborator and enabler to virtually all including yours truly. An opinionated, occasionally cantankerous creative with a generous heart and an inspiring humility. Did I mention his sound? He sounds like Mike Boone. Always.
I met Uri in the late 1980's. We played a 3-night weekly gig in saxophonist Charles Bowen's septet. We also played a lot of clubs in Philly. He was very influential in helping me ‘free up' my playing.
—Mike Boone
Uri Caine epitomizes Duke’s designation “beyond category". How many pianists have separate agents for classical and jazz gigs? 33 CDs as leader. 50 compositions for solo instrument, myriad ensembles and full orchestra. World-famous for his reworking of Mahler, Wagner, Verdi, Schumann and Bach. Has played with Philly Joe Jones and Questlove, Hank Mobley and John Zorn, Freddie Hubbard and Dave Douglas, Buddy DeFranco and Don Byron, the Cleveland Orchestra and the Master Musicians of Jajouka. Considerable breadth there and David Rees-Williams observes “a deep knowledge of the jazz canon and of previous piano styles”. A prodigious creative mind with eclectic fluency and an unpredictable mix of passion and humor.
Caine’s work is marked by a desire to re-contextualize and re-approach musical genres, and often, to introduce—or reintroduce—improvisation where it is not ordinarily found...
Both Uri and Mike are making return engagements to @exuberance. Mike memorably played our first salon here last July with Sumi Tonooka and Anwar Marshall. Uri performed a dazzling “Agent Orange” for our New Year’s Day resolution benefit in anticipation of Dear Leader’s impending inauguration. They meet us here for a mix of standards and originals. It's a momentous reunion to which you are invited.
let the music you make be joyous
—Uri Caine
@exuberance parties at Matt’s are by invitation only to provide a dignified, comfortable and acoustically ideal setting for worthwhile art and ideas. Cellphones and other devices are to be holstered during the performances. Between sets, conviviality rules.