May 16, 2008
photo by Jan Caine
Last week, LACO composer-in-residence Uri Caine came to town, and radio station KPCC came knocking. You can hear Uri’s conversation (in words and music) with Queena Kim of Offramp this Saturday, May 17 at 12:00 noon, rebroadcast on Sunday evening, May 18 at 8:00 pm. The show will also be available for streaming at the archive following the weekend airings.
If you’re at all curious about how these things sometimes come together on a moment’s notice, read on…
So there I was last Tuesday afternoon, holed up in my lair, formerly known as the Room with All the Chairs here at LACO HQ, fretting over a looming proposal deadline (but when am I not fretting over a looming deadline of some sort?), when I got a call from Queena Kim, intrepid reporter/producer at KPCC’s hip weekend show, Offramp. She’d opened my email about Uri Caine’s in-store at Amoeba Music, then just 24 hours away. She was bummed to have to miss the show, she said, but Queena was intrigued by the tunes on Uri’s new Classical Variations album and called me to angle for a sit-down with LACO’s ultra-cool composer-in-residence.
I did my best to sound like, yeah, we have to beat the press off with a stick these days, but my lips betrayed me, as something like “Ohmygodthatwouldbesoawesome!!!” came bleating out. Fortunately, Queena played along, and I managed to run down Uri’s rap sheet for her: world-renowned jazz pianist, check; genre-busting composer, check; intense raconteur, check; and all-around hell of a guy, check.
Now, the man was only going to be in town for a few days, and he was already booked to spread some love to his minions waaaay up at Cal Arts on Thursday – the only possible day for the interview. Not only that, but Queena had the good sense to want to rap with him over the ivories. Putting this thing together was going to mean dodging LA traffic – by Uri and wife Jan, native East Coasters both – and finding a quiet space with a piano, preferably not too far from KPCC’s downtown digs. What with the Music Center, Disney Hall, the Colburn School and the piano bar at the Biltmore all located just a few blocks from the Offramp studios, no worries, right?
Turns out, LA is lousy with musicians, and every practice room, rehearsal hall and concert stage on Grand Ave. would be overrun with them on the day in question. LACO production associate Amy B was raising blisters on her dialing finger from calling around, when somewhere in the back of my brain a little light flickered on, and it lit up memories of evenings past: nights where music and wine and chit-chat sparkled like the disco ball suspended from the ceiling – the music room of Mt. Washington’s most happening host, Alan Goldman.
So I gave the G-Man a shout, and sure enough, he was down with the cause. One call to Teri Tunes (again, by the unwearied Amy), and she stopped by the place for a little peek under the hood just as Queena and Uri were making their ways along the tree-lined hillsides north of Chavez Ravine…and that, my friends, is where I have to clip this yarn, because the rest of the story is almost as much of a mystery to me as it is to you.
To hear how it ends, we’ll have to tune in to KPCC 89.3 FM this Saturday (May 17) at 12:00 noon or Sunday evening (May 18) at 8:00 pm. But if you’re unlucky enough not be near the radio (like, say, you’re listening to the Boss of Beethoven at Royce Hall right about that time?), you can stream the whole thing later at the Offramp website or even download it for the road. And if you hear something you like? Make sure to tell Queena I sent you.