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Vijay Iyer: Solo
by AAJ Italy Staff
Il suo è un tocco pesante e deciso. Immagina gli 88 tasti del pianoforte come gli attrezzi di una palestra. Dopo i fasti dell'acclamato Historicity, Vijay Iyer doveva andare da solo. E per farlo non poteva che mettere a fuoco la sua forza, la sua dirompenza, il tocco cristallino e rotondo: doveva irrobustire le tessiture con elementi di percussività pianistica. Non solo: doveva volgere lo sguardo verso il genio sregolato di Theloniuos Monk, amplificandone le turbolenze e le “note" sbagliate ...
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by Bruce Lindsay
Vijay Iyer's trio album, Historicity (ACT, 2009), brought the pianist much critical acclaim and saw him awarded the 2010 Jazz Journalist Association Musician Of The Year. Solo finds Iyer on his own for the first time, on a collection that encompasses jazz standards, a contemporary pop classic and five of Iyer's own original compositions. It's a more thoughtful and reflective album than Historicity but, while it clearly demonstrates Iyer's technical ability on his chosen instrument, it is also a less ...
Continue ReadingVijay Iyer: Solo
by Lyn Horton
On the heels of being named Musician of the Year in June, 2010, by the Jazz Journalists Association, Vijay Iyer has released his first solo piano recording. Solo comes after the critical success of his trio's Historicity (ACT Music, 2009) and quartet's Tragicomic (Sunnyside, 2008). Iyer is a kind of Renaissance man, with a jaw-dropping biography on his website; it is a wonder how he can accomplish so much. But the much-ness in his life seems to ...
Continue ReadingVijay Iyer: Solo
by Chris May
Pianist Vijay Iyer's Historicity (ACT Music, 2009) was among the spellbinders of its year, a 10 track trio album, one half originals, one half covers. Solo makes a return visit to the same playground, its 11 tracks comprising five originals and six covers of tunes written by Duke Ellington ("Black & Tan Fantasy," “La Fleurette Africaine"), Thelonious Monk ("Epistrophy"), Jimmy Van Heusen ("Darn That Dream"), Steve Coleman ("Games") and Steve Porcaro/John Bettis ("Human Nature," for the singer Michael Jackson).
Continue ReadingVijay Iyer: Into The Mainstream
by AAJ Staff
New York-based pianist and composer Vijay Iyer is a rhythmic explorer whose piano trio album Historicity (ACT, 2009) is a cohesive and vibrant record that carries its creator and his colleagues firmly into the mainstream of modern music. The album stems from, among other sources, a succession of striking piano trio influences such as Duke Ellington's trio recording with Charles Mingus and Max Roach, Money Jungle (Blue Note, 1962), the small group Blue Note recordings by Andrew Hill, and the ...
Continue ReadingVijay Iyer: Historicity
by Chris Kompanek
Pianist Vijay Iyer's compositions are ferociously paced and fractured with a sense of urgency that informs each note he plays. Historicity's title track opens the record, grabbing the listener immediately with the pianist's unique touch, carrying through on other original compositions such as “Helix"--a ballad on the surface that explodes midway through with frenetic energy. This energy is also felt on his interpretations of other composers. Standouts include his 'versioning' of M.I.A.'s “Galang," which utilizes rhythmic phrases to retain the ...
Continue ReadingVijay Iyer Trio: Historicity
by AAJ Italy Staff
"But if Coltrane can do 'My Favorite Things,' I can do 'Somewhere.'" Dietro questa affermazione ironicamente presuntuosa e irriverente, si cela il volto, anzi la mente, di quel geniaccio, termine abusato ma che ci sentiamo di attribuire senza tentennamenti, di Vijay Iyer. Non più di primissimo pelo, va per i trentasei, nato negli Stati Uniti da emigranti indiani, Vijay Iyer con una manciata di dischi diluiti in tre lustri (molti dei quali con il fido sassofonista Rudresh Mahnthappa) ha fatto ...
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