Jazz pianist Uri Caine quotes extensively from symphonic and vocal works by composers in the classical or art music tradition. On his albums Dark Flame (2003) and Urlicht/Primal Light (1997), Caine's borrowing from Mahler takes a variety of forms, ranging from quotation of a full piece to selective quotation of important and sequential melodic fragments in order to mimic the structure of Mahler's original in a more condensed form. Mahler is a particularly appropriate source for the jazz artist's borrowing, as the earlier composer's use of "folk" materials provides a model for Caine's own appropriation of musical material to explore Jewish identity. Caine's use of Mahler's music is not simply a matter of performance, or of arrangement for different voices; rather, Caine's borrowing is a reflection upon Mahler, history, and subjectivity. Even so, Caine's borrowing within a jazz context raises valuable questions about the validity of the frequently assumed dichotomy between composition and improvisation.

Works: Uri Caine: Dark Flame (230-31, 237-38, 241, 248, 250-52), Urlicht/Primal Light (230-31, 233, 237-39, 241-42, 248-52).

Sources: Mahler: Symphony No. 5 (237, 238), Symphony No. 1 (237, 242, 247), Symphony No. 2 (238, 250), Des Knaben Wunderhorn (238, 241), Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (238, 250), Das Lied von der Erde (239, 241, 248), Fünf Rückertlieder (241); Anonymous, Frère Jacques (237).

Index Classifications: 1900s, 2000s, Popular

Contributed by: Paul Killinger