Uri Caine / Tim Lefebvre / Zach Danziger | Winter & Winter (2001) Reviews of this one so far have emphasized, basically, that it's a nice little electric record from a guy known for his incredibly innovative acoustic side. Normally, I'd let it go at that, given that kudos are weighing in at the three to four star range and Uri has, indeed, pulled off some truly innovative, landmark stuff in other fields of endeavor. But I must weigh in on this one my funky friends, because this is a Rhodes rekkid, one that clearly belongs right up there alongside the output of the axe's trinity, Herbie, Chick and Joe Z. Now forget about those last two guys because this one is an ultramodern extension on the work of the estimable Mr. Hancock. Make no mistake about it- Caine, Tim Lefebvre and Zach Danziger are huntin' the funkin' heads of Herbie, Paul Jackson and Mike Clarke here- lookin' 'em right in their eyes and boldly staring them down in the new millennium! It's full of iterations, extensions and reflections of the wonderful games played between Hancock and his Headhunters, Thrust, Sextant, Chameleon, and Secrets -era band mates. Herbie's Rhodes was pushed through a plethora of funky black boxes yielding spaciness, dirtiness, swallowed wah and echoplexed, vibraphonic, head-opening atmospheres. Jackson laid the root down while reaching up into the stratosphere for those funky high note fills and recalls. Clarke, meanwhile, was merely reinventing the language between the snare and hihat