Zohar:Keter

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Keter is idea man extraordinaire Uri Caine's take on the Knitting Factory's "Jewish Alternative Movement". In contrast to the Ashkenazic bias of the most of the material in this ongoing series, pianist Caine chose to draw on Sephardic culture for his inspiration, creating the trio Zohar together with cantor Aaron Bensoussan and DJ Olive, both of whom worked with him on his highly-acclaimed Mahler interpretations. A highly unorthodox constellation, to say the least. On Keter, each odd-numbered track, beginning with the remarkable "Crown", is a remix of a session between Bensoussan (vocals, oud) and Caine (prepared piano) done by Olive, while every even-numbered one features the pair (accompanied by a handful of guest instrumentalists on bass, clarinet, percussion and guitar) performing traditional and original songs in Arabic, Hebrew and Ladino in a more straightforward manner. As always with Caine, however, the term "straightforward" is to be taken with a grain of salt. The combination of Bensoussan's soaring melismas and Caine's brilliant fingers creates a Sephardic jazz the likes of which has never been heard in the Maghreb before. At times, the duo call attention to the Spanish origins of Sephardic culture, as on the flamenco-inflected "A Woman of Valor", or "When It Will Be Built", which is straight outta Havana. DJ Olive's deconstructions act both as the illbient thread binding this colourful tapestry together and the gust of fresh wind lifting this already unique project into the realm of the sublime.