Jazz Articles about Vijay Iyer

Vijay Iyer Trio: Historicity

by Chris May
October 9, 2009

There is much that is exciting about pianist Vijay Iyer and almost as much that is irritating. The excitement is in the music and the irritation in the miasma of cerebralization that surrounds it. The most recent instance of the latter comes with the packaging for Historicity. Any album title which requires a fairly lengthy liner note to explain it, and which starts, elliptically and gratuitously, with a quote from Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci's The Prison Notebooks, rings alarm bells. ...

Vijay Iyer Trio: Historicity

by Troy Collins
October 8, 2009

The art of the piano trio has enjoyed a healthy renaissance over the past two decades, as a plethora of new stars have ascended the ranks to uphold and advance the tradition. Ethan Iverson, Brad Mehldau, Jason Moran, and Matthew Shipp are just a few of the adventurous younger artists whose notion of the trio is anything but staid, yet firmly linked to the hallowed format's core principles of intimate three-way communication.

Add to this short list Vijay ...

Vijay Iyer and His Trio Come to Williamstown, MA

by Lyn Horton
May 22, 2009

Vijay Iyer Trio Williamstown Jazz Festival Sterling and Francine Art Institute Williamstown, Massachusetts May 6, 2009

Last year, Vijay Iyer produced the much acclaimed Tragicomic with a quartet that included alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa. But, for the Williamstown Jazz Festival, Iyer assembled a trio portion of the same group. Stephan Crump played the bass; Marcus Gilmore was on drums; and Iyer, on piano. The trio performed as if ...

Vijay Iyer: Tragicomic

by Lyn Horton
June 12, 2008

Expressing everything that is possible at one point in time is how art comes about. For visual artists, the limitations of the chosen medium frame and freeze the passion of the art. For musicians, the parameters comply with a different set of conditions. Music is concerned with time and the kinds of changes that occur within it. How those changes affect the listener complete a never-ending cyclical relationship.

Nowhere is this relationship clearer than on pianist Vijay Iyer's self-produced Tragicomic. ...

Vijay Iyer: Tragicomic & Door

by Terrell Kent Holmes
June 8, 2008

Vijay Iyer Tragicomic Sunnyside Records 2008 Fieldwork Door Pi 2008

Whether through theatrical productions, poetry collaborations or standard jazz settings, Vijay Iyer uses music to comment on various aspects of contemporary culture. A pianist and composer of boundless intelligence and creativity, his appearance on a pair of excellent new releases displays ...

Vijay Iyer: Tragicomic

by Troy Collins
May 24, 2008

Pianist Vijay Iyer's poly-stylistic take on the jazz tradition has fostered collaborations with a wide spectrum of artists, including M-Base founder Steve Coleman, avant-garde legend Roscoe Mitchell and experimental hip-hop conceptualist Mike Ladd. As a self taught musician with a B.S. in Mathematics from Yale and a Masters in Physics and Ph.D in Technology and the Arts from UC Berkley, Iyer brings a visionary sensibility to his projects, always capturing the prevailing zeitgeist.

Tragicomic is Iyer's fourth recording ...

Tirtha at The Jazz Standard

by Budd Kopman
November 30, 2007

Tirtha at The Jazz StandardThe Jazz StandardNew York City, NYNovember 6, 2007 Tirtha (pronounced “TEER-tha") is a new project brought together by pianist Vijay Iyer that is a trio including the phenomenal electric guitarist Prasanna and the young virtuoso tabla player Nitin Mitta. This amazing and very exciting one-night-only show was co-sponsored by National Geographic Traveler, and the house was almost packed for the early show with a line extending up the ...