Jazz Articles about Vijay Iyer

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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 ...

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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 ...

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Vijay Iyer - Rudresh Mahanthappa: Vijay Iyer - Rudresh Mahanthappa: Raw Materials / Vijay Iyer: Reimagining

by AAJ Italy Staff
November 7, 2007

È sempre interessante osservare le “dinamiche di coppia" nelle situazioni più diverse: a tu per tu oppure in relazioni con altri soggetti. L'approccio, per così dire, sociopsicologico è chiaramente un piccolo spunto [ma non pretestuoso] per accostare due recenti lavori che vedono il pianista Vijay Iyer e il sassofonista Rudresh Mahanthappa nei due differenti contesti del duo e del quartetto. Il duo Raw Materials - che è anche il titolo del disco PI Recordings - nasce più di dieci anni ...

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Vijay Iyer and Mike Ladd: Still Life with Commentator

by Lyn Horton
April 8, 2007

The oratorio that we all know is Handel's Messiah. This musical form approaches that of opera. The only difference is that there is no acting and huge performance ethic. An oratorio unfolds a chain of isolated yet interrelated parts that address the overall concept of the piece.

Once again keyboardist Vijay Iyer and vocalist Mike Ladd have collaborated brilliantly to author the oratorio Still Life with Commentator. This work illuminates the perils within contemporary global society from the standpoint of ...

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Uncertainty Principles

by AAJ Staff
March 6, 2007

By Vijay Iyer For me, this month brings an unusual confluence of several disparate projects and encounters. On March 6th, I celebrate the release of a new album, Still Life with Commentator, created in collaboration with poet/hiphop artist Mike Ladd and a stellar electroacoustic ensemble, which we will bring to UCLA on the 9th. Immediately afterward, I'm going to Germany and Austria for a week to take part in some rare performances of Roscoe Mitchell's nine-piece group, ...

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Vijay Iyer & Rudresh Mahanthappa: Raw Materials

by Budd Kopman
June 6, 2006

The music of pianist Vijay Iyer and altoist Rudresh Mahanthappa always communicates a feeling of importance, whether they appear individually or together in any of a myriad of groups. The “alter ego" analogy is perhaps a bit stale by now, but their decade-long connection is on full display in Raw Materials. Their musical background comes from the Carnatic (southern Indian), as opposed to Hindustani (northern Indian) tradition. However, if you're familiar with Iyer's recent release Reimagining (Savoy, ...

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Vijay Iyer & Rudresh Mahanthappa: Raw Materials

by Paul Olson
June 1, 2006

Pianist Vijay Iyer and alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa are long-time collaborators. Mahanthappa's an important member of Iyer's quartet and vice-versa, and the two have produced a substantial body of recorded work together.The two musicians' ten-year-old Raw Materials duo project, however, has remained officially undocumented until now. The important release of Raw Materials fills a glaring space in Iyer and Mahanthappa's discography. Beyond any historical importance, however, this thirteen-song album is both a fascinating look into a unique contemporary ...