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Vijay Iyer
Experimental / Jazz / Other



NEW YORK, New York
United States

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Last Login:  11/7/2009
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   Vijay Iyer: General Info
Member Since9/16/2005
Band Websitehttp://vijay-iyer.com
Band MembersIF PLAYER DOESN'T WORK, CLICK "OPEN PLAYER IN A NEW WINDOW" --->

vijay iyer trio: vijay iyer, stephan crump, marcus gilmore.


["historicity", "helix" and "galang" are from the new vijay iyer trio album historicity. "galang" composed by M.I.A. et al.]



["comin' up" and "becoming" are from the 2008 album "tragicomic." "comin' up" composed by bud powell.
below videos taped live at the stone, 19 jan 2007 by Nicolas Letman-Burtinovic.]

"thrash anthem" and "down to the wire" are cues created for espn, featuring vijay iyer, piano; mark shim, tenor saxophone; ambrose akinmusire, trumpet; harish raghavan, bass; marcus gilmore, drums.

Vijay Iyer Quartet: V.I., piano & composition; Rudresh Mahanthappa, alto saxophone; Stephan Crump, bass; Marcus Gilmore, drums. ["Machine Days" is from the 2008 album "Tragicomic" (Sunnyside 2008).]

Raw Materials: V.I., piano & composition; Rudresh Mahanthappa, alto saxophone & composition. See the duo's myspace page for music samples.

Fieldwork: V.I., piano & composition; Steve Lehman, saxophones & composition; Tyshawn Sorey, drums & composition. See Fieldwork's myspace page for music samples. [Below video of Fieldwork playing Tyshawn Sorey's composition "Of," filmed live on June 19, 2007 by Joe Chondo.]

Tirtha: V. I., piano, compositions; Prasanna, electric guitar, vocals, compositions; Nitin Mitta, tablas. [Below video is the group Tirtha performing the composition "Tribal Wisdom" by Prasanna, at The Jazz Standard on Nov 6, 2007, filmed by Sandi Higgins.]

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[Below video is the group Tirtha performing the composition "Tirtha" by Vijay Iyer, at The Jazz Standard on Nov 6, 2007, filmed by Nicolas Letman-Burtinovic.]

Still Life with Commentator: V.I., composer, programming, live electronics, piano; Mike Ladd, lyrics, voice (lead on "Cleaning Up the Mess"), electronics; Pamela Z, voice & live electronic processing (2nd lead on "Cleaning Up the Mess"); Guillermo E. Brown, voice, auxiliary electronic percussion; Okkyung Lee, cello; Liberty Ellman, guitar; Palina Jonsdottir, voice; Masa Nakanishi, voice; Scotty Hard, sound & co-production. Original theatrical performance conceived and directed by Ibrahim Quraishi. ["Cleaning Up the Mess" and "Jon Stewart on Crossfire" are from the album Still Life with Commentator by Vijay Iyer & Mike Ladd, on Savoy Jazz.]

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InfluencesSun Ra, Thelonious Monk, 80's Prince, John Coltrane, Mike Ladd, Alice Coltrane, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Outkast, Ali Farka Toure, Abida Perveen, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Duke Ellington, Bela Bartok, Anti-Pop Consortium, Alfred Schnittke, Gyorgy Ligeti, Nina Simone, Steve Coleman, Wadada Leo Smith, Mary Lou Williams, Cecil Taylor, Autechre, Cornershop, Asian Dub Foundation, Ornette Coleman, Trichy Sankaran, Sudha Raghunathan, Randy Weston, Andrew Hill, X-Ecutioners, Led Zeppelin, Jorge Luis Borges, A Tribe Called Quest, The Police, Henry Threadgill, De La Soul, Art Tatum, Wu-Tang Clan, Public Enemy, Martin Scorsese, Bud Powell, Samuel R. Delany, Umayalpuram Sivaraman, people, air, water, food, music
Sounds Like"big grey tire" (just sound it out)


Discography






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Tragicomic (2008)
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Sunnyside presents Vijay's long-awaited new quartet disc, his first since 2005's stunningly acclaimed "Reimagining." Featuring the same longstanding ensemble (Iyer, saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, bassist Stephan Crump, and drummer Marcus Gilmore), the album includes ten Iyer originals and two astonishing covers: a rhythmically charged dub version of Bud Powell's "Comin' Up" and a solo rendition of the standard "I'm All Smiles."

"**** (4 stars out of 4) ...a near-certainty to be acclaimed as one of the best jazz discs of the year... starkly beautiful and powerful... one of the most powerful quartets in all of emergent jazz." - Jeff Simon, Buffalo News

"a strikingly original pianistic voice... 'Tragicomic' is another stellar installment in his oeuvre... a marriage of intellect and power, of brains and brawn... This is highfalutin jazz, and it swings madly." - Steve Greenlee, JazzTimes

"[P]ianist Vijay Iyer is on his way to becoming one of the major jazz voices of his generation... 'Tragicomic' is the most openhearted of Iyer's instrumental albums and, perhaps not coincidentally, the most unabashedly emotional." - Charles Farrell, emusic.com

"Iyer brings a visionary sensibility to his projects, always capturing the prevailing zeitgeist... A stunning achievement, 'Tragicomic' is one of the year's best albums." - Troy Collins, AllAboutJazz.com



Door (2008)
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Praised on NPR's Fresh Air as "a jazz power trio for the new century," FIELDWORK makes its most powerful and fiercely imagined statement to date with Door, their third album for Pi Recordings. An important marker in this New York collective's ongoing evolution, Door documents three years of intense collaboration since Simulated Progress (2005), and is their first Fieldwork recording to feature the jaw-dropping contributions of Tyshawn Sorey, drummer/composer/co-leader of Fieldwork since 2005. Rounded out by saxophonist/composer Steve Lehman and pianist/composer Vijay Iyer, Fieldwork reflects and refracts the American jazz tradition, modern composition, African and South Asian musics, underground hip-hop and electronica, and the influential music of Chicago's A.A.C.M. The resulting blend is "rich in paradox: dark yet uplifting, intellectually demanding yet effortlessly funky" (JazzTimes).

"There's a profound sense of trust, shared values, and -- above all -- the art of communication... A phenomenal concept brought fully to fruition by these incredible, challenging, forward-thinking musicians." - Michael Nastos, All Music Guide

"staggeringly good" - Charles Farrell, emusic.com


Still Life with Commentator (2007)
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Savoy Jazz presents the album version of the critically acclaimed oratorio about tv news, the blogosphere, and life during wartime, by composer-pianist Vijay Iyer and poet-performer Mike Ladd. Also featuring Pamela Z, Guillermo E. Brown, Liberty Ellman, Okkyung Lee, Palina Jonsdottir, and Masayasu Nakanishi. Co-produced by Scotty Hard. Original theatrical production conceived and directed by Ibrahim Quraishi.

BEST ALBUMS OF 2006 - John Schaefer, WNYC

**** (FOUR STARS) - Peter Margasak, Downbeat Magazine

"At times beautiful or bewildering, but entirely bewitching, it offers nuanced insights with each listen." - John Murph, Downbeat Magazine

"...these Iyer-Ladd creations are unfailingly imaginative and significant... Still Life is awash in "post-human" beatmaking but often pulses with lyricism. Ladd's delivery is throaty, peculiar in the best sense, a hip-hop vernacular with highbrow dimension. Iyer's deserved acclaim as a jazz composer and pianist also makes him noteworthy in a wider world of art... By refusing categorization in an overly rigid jazz field, these musicians further jazz's purposes by ingraining its sensibility among different publics -- one important way for the music to operate in the 21st century." - JazzTimes

"The libretto's tone often ricochets between elegiac and sardonic, with allusions ranging from Abu Ghraib to Dr. Phil. Much of the music is laptop-generated, a swirl of ominous textures and hypnotic rhythms... these elements commingle suggestively.
...the piece, with its uneasy resonances, holds up a fun-house mirror to our culture of information overload. And somehow the results are not just galling, but also often gripping. Like the subject of its critique, it draws you in."
- The New York Times

"Once again keyboardist Vijay Iyer and vocalist Mike Ladd have collaborated brilliantly... The meaning of every segment of this work is transported with a musical richness that is absolutely perfect... Ladd and Iyer have humanized our world and remind us to believe in and practice what we know instinctually to be good." - All About Jazz



Raw Materials (2006)
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The long-awaited duo album on Savoy Jazz, created by the two longtime collaborators Vijay Iyer (piano, compositions) & Rudresh Mahanthappa (alto saxophone, compositions). Release date May 23, 2006.

BEST JAZZ ALBUMS OF 2006 - Village Voice, JazzTimes

**** (4 stars) "Although Raw Materials is the work of a duo, there's more detail here than you'll find from most combos double or triple its size. An auspicious debut." - Downbeat

" their most striking collaboration yet. A series of confident duets, the set combines stateliness with rawness... It's like seeing two sides of the same coin." - Time Out New York

"a fascinating look into a unique contemporary musical dialogue... [V]ery few recordings reveal such a richness or complexity of emotion -- and continue to reveal more of these qualities listen after listen." - All About Jazz



Reimagining (2005)
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Vijay Iyer's exhilarating debut on Savoy Jazz, featuring powerful new music for his longstanding quartet (Iyer, piano; Rudresh Mahanthappa, alto saxophone; Stephan Crump, bass; Marcus Gilmore, drums). Capped off with a radical solo piano version of John Lennon's "Imagine." Release date May 17, 2005.

BEST JAZZ ALBUMS OF 2005 - Slate, ArtForum, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Village Voice, JazzTimes

**** (4 stars) - Downbeat

"an organic, austere consistency of vision and accomplishment that's simply stunning... The quartet achieves an internal sympathy and rapport that's unsurpassed by any working jazz group today." - All About Jazz

"Iyer plays with a ringing bell-like tone that recalls both McCoy Tyner and Nina Simone at her most wrought, then drops small descending chords like blessings... The music conveys a narrative quality that's very much driven by the leader that combines with a strong lyrical sense to create intensely engaging music." - Signal to Noise

"Here is a musician who is discovering as he goes, one who never gives in to notions of excess or mere vanguard speculation, but who moves purposefully into the process of discovery. And jazz is better for it. Reimagining is the sound of the mature Iyer, who is at once authoritative and inquisitive, finding and relating mystery as he uncovers it and, in the process, furthering the jazz tradition. Bravo." - All Music Guide



Simulated Progress (2005)
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The groundbreaking second album by the collective trio Fieldwork, featuring Vijay Iyer, Steve Lehman, and previous Fieldwork drummer Elliot Kavee. Release date: July 19, 2005.

"A JAZZ POWER TRIO FOR THE NEW CENTURY." - NPR's Fresh Air

"a dazzling, intrepid sort of new jazz that's as deeply interactive as anything you're likely to hear this year... an unwavering unity of sonic purpose and attack... there is nothing else out there that sounds like it... In its risk-taking, fragility, and fearlessness, it's also very thrilling." - All About Jazz

"dazzling dialogues that aim equally for listeners' feet and minds. Together, they create intensely rhythmic music that combines jazz ingenuity, rock velocity and World Music savvy. Their visceral compositions constantly blur the lines between improvised flights of fancy and expertly calibrated arrangements... The result is a heady, punchy outing that could serve as a template for daring, forward-looking musicians everywhere." - San Diego Union-Tribune

"Fieldwork is the sound of jazz exploding and raining down shards of glass upon our heads." - Prefix Magazine


Read the liner notes for
In What Language?
In What Language? (2004)
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Vijay Iyer's genre-defying collaboration with poet/hip-hop artist Mike Ladd is a series of monologues by people of color negotiating the hyper-globalized setting of an international airport. Featuring an eleven-member ensemble of musicians and speaking voices, this is the album version of the acclaimed multi-media performance piece of the same name. Co-produced by Scotty Hard.

"A triumph of a genre that doesn't yet exist. The 80-minute 'song cycle' of human lives caught up in globalization's swirl is a model of what makes good art connect: It is aggressively ambitious yet unfailingly accessible and deeply empathetic. - S. Mitter, Boston Globe

"A song cycle of powerful narrative invention and ravishing trance-jazz, In What Language? is about nothing less than the death of trust. In the post-9/11 world, we are all suspects: probed, interrogated, x-rayed, doubted... Poet Mike Ladd vividly echoes that outrage and desperation in the raps and spoken-word reveries here, seventeen pointed fictions and candid reflections on exile, quarantine, suspicion and skin, performed by a moving corps of voices. Pianist-composer Vijay Iyer amplifies that tangle of anger, pain, and motion with a spinning-wheel score for jazz-rock septet: roiling outbreaks of fusion, lusty sighs of brass, jolts of electro hip-hop. There is a beautiful resilience here, too - in Iyer's cleansing cascades of piano and Ladd's declaration near the end of the album: 'I swallow whole every complexity and digest all the answers / And no answers will emerge, only music, food and family in the air." In What Language? is a compelling, provocative record about a world grown smaller, meaner and more fearful. It is also an eloquent tribute to the stubborn, regenerative powers of the human spirit." - David Fricke, Rolling Stone

"...it's that elusive thing, underground political music that sounds good... a breakthrough hip-hop-jazz fusion... it's one of the smartest I've heard, and one of the few that really works." - Ben Ratliff, The New York Times

"...a monumental work that seamlessly combines sound and voice for an artistic statement that should reverberate for years to come... simply a masterpiece" - Signal to Noise

****1/2 (4 1/2 stars, out of 5) - Downbeat

CHOC [highest rating] - Jazzman

1 ALBUM OF THE YEAR - Jazzwise

""The great success of 'In What Language?' can be measured by the seamlessness with which Ladd's verse meets Iyer's music. The strength of their collaborative efforts can hardly be overstated... The marriage of sound and word are so complete that it becomes impossible to imagine one component of the project without the other... a tour de force... Steeped in the language of South Asian and pan-African culture but trafficking in universal impulses..." - JazzTimes



Read the liner notes for
Blood Sutra
Blood Sutra (2003)
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The Vijay Iyer Quartet's stunning follow-up to Panoptic Modes is released as a hybrid SACD, with a great stereo mix for your cd player, and hi-def stereo & 5.1 surround mixes for an SACD player. Released on the newly resurrected Artists House label.

The cohesive group's ethos is at once reflective and kinetic... This is exciting and eminently listenable stuff, intuitive in bearing and dynamic in execution. An essential for adventurous listeners, [it] could also serve as an ideal introduction to Iyer's burgeoning oeuvre. - JazzTimes

...raises Iyer's writing and playing to the next level... Blood Sutra finds him engaging in sharply diverse but well-balanced forms on each track - and coming up a winner every time... Not simply a great jazz record, Blood Sutra is a statement of purpose from an artist whose youth stands in contrast to his irrefutable skill. - Jazziz

"Blood Sutra is a terrifically challenging record. But challenging music is often the most rewarding, and this suite of 12 perfectly interlocking songs follows through on that promise... Iyer's compositions are moving jazz in a new direction." - The Colorado Springs Independent



Your Life Flashes (2002)
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A collaborative trio project called Fieldwork, featuring Iyer, saxophonist Aaron Stewart, and drummer Elliot Kavee

"a terrific disc, filled with vibrant playing and wondrous ideas" - The Boston Globe

"terse, spellbinding miniatures that never stand still" - The Village Voice

"Fieldwork is doing an excellent job of immersing itself in the music's most primal and essential elements...the exploration of rhythm in an intimate and intensely purposeful dialogue." - Billboard




Read the liner notes for Panoptic Modes
Panoptic Modes (2001)
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high-energy quartet music featuring Rudresh Mahanthappa, Stephan Crump, and Derrek Phillips. This cd was chosen as one of the best jazz albums of 2001 in The New Yorker and The Village Voice.

"sends a ripple through the jazz universe" - modernjazz.com

"Iyer's spiky chords, precise phrasing, and surprising linear improvisations are consistently compelling... This band glows with purpose." - Gary Giddins, Village Voice

"FOUR STARS...a music so rhythmically gripping and harmonically provocative that one hardly can wait to hear what outlandish ideathese players will hit upon next... 'Panoptic Modes' offers a sensuousness of sound and vividness of performances thatwill seduce even the casual listener." - Howard Reich, Los Angeles Times




Read the liner notes for Architextures
Architextures (1998)
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original music for trio, octet, & solo piano

"utterly remarkable... rhythmically challenging, smartly composed, and burns through with passionate playing and improvisation" - sonicnet.com (top 10 list for 2000)

"genius... epitomizing new jazz at its best." - San Francisco Bay Guardian

"bracingly expressionist jazz... full of pulsating blues" - New York Times




Read the liner notes for Memorophilia
Memorophilia (1995)
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solo piano, trio, quartets, quintet; guests Steve Coleman, Francis Wong, & George Lewis

"vibrant with an Ellingtonian elegance... thoughtfully conceived and gorgeously executed." - The Montclarion

"one of the most outstanding examples of original contemporary jazz I can remember hearing in a long, long while... The music is not your typical straight-ahead jazz jam session. It is a work of art with orchestral balance and dignity." - Jazz Friends Review

"One of the best albums of 1996" - Cadence magazine editor Bob Rusch

"One of the 15 most interesting sounds of the decade!" - A. Magazine


Record LabelACT, Sunnyside, Pi, Savoy, Red Giant, Asian Improv
Type of LabelIndie


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   Upcoming Shows ( view all )
Oct 16 2009 8:00P
Pôle Sud / Vijay Iyer Trio Strasbourg
Oct 17 2009 9:00P
Abbaye du Neumünster / Vijay Iyer Trio Luxembourg
Oct 18 2009 8:00P
Kasteel XIII Leut / Vijay Iyer Trio Maasmechelen
Oct 19 2009 9:00P
Enjoy Jazz Festival - Karlstorbahnhof / Vijay Iyer Trio Heidelberg
Oct 20 2009 8:00P
Duc des Lombards / CareFusion Jazz Festival / Vijay Iyer Trio (shows @ 8 & 10pm) Paris
Oct 21 2009 8:00P
Unterfahrt / Vijay Iyer Trio Munich
Oct 23 2009 8:00P
Umeå Jazz Festival / Vijay Iyer Trio Umeå
Oct 24 2009 8:00P
Landesmuseum / Vijay Iyer Trio Linz
Oct 25 2009 8:00P
Cormons Jazz Festival / Vijay Iyer Trio with Rudresh Mahanthappa Cormons
Oct 30 2009 7:00P
Orchestra Hall / Vijay Iyer Trio (double bill w/ Holland/Moran/Potter/Harland) Chicago, Illinois
Nov 5 2009 7:00P
Berlin Jazz Festival / Vijay Iyer Trio Berlin
Nov 6 2009 7:30P
Jazz Standard / Vijay Iyer Trio (sets 7:30, 9:30, 11:30) New York, New York
Nov 7 2009 7:30P
Jazz Standard / Vijay Iyer Trio (sets 7:30, 9:30, 11:30) New York, New York
Nov 8 2009 7:30P
Jazz Standard / Vijay Iyer Trio (sets 7:30, 9:30) New York, New York
Nov 11 2009 8:00P
Jazz Festival / solo concert Zagreb
Nov 12 2009 8:00P
Kultursaal / solo concert Rottenmann
Nov 14 2009 8:00P
Literature festival / solo concert Esslingen
Nov 15 2009 8:00P
London Jazz Festival / solo concert London
Nov 20 2009 8:00P
Madrid Jazz Festival / Wadada Leo Smith Golden Quartet Madrid
Dec 28 2009 8:30P
Bimhuis / solo concert Amsterdam
Dec 29 2009 9:00P
Paradox / Festival Stranger Than Paranoia / Solo concert Tilburg
Jan 20 2010 8:00P
Jazz Bistro / Vijay Iyer Trio St. Louis, Missouri
Jan 21 2010 8:00P
Jazz Bistro / Vijay Iyer Trio St. Louis, Missouri
Jan 22 2010 8:00P
Jazz Bistro / Vijay Iyer Trio St. Louis, Missouri
Jan 23 2010 8:00P
Jazz Bistro / Vijay Iyer Trio St. Louis, Missouri
Jan 25 2010 8:00P
Metastasio Jazz Festival / Fieldwork (sorey/lehman/iyer) Prato
Jan 26 2010 8:00P
Centro d’Arte Università / fieldwork (lehman/iyer/sorey) Padova
Feb 7 2010 11:00A
Teatro Manzoni / Aperitivo in Concerto / Vijay Iyer + Mike Ladd: new works (matinee concert) Milano, Milano
Feb 25 2010 8:00P
Jazzclub / Raw Materials (iyer/mahanthappa) Ulster
Feb 26 2010 8:00P
Stanzerei / Raw Materials (iyer/mahanthappa) Baden
Feb 27 2010 8:00P
Kunsthaus / Raw Materials (iyer/mahanthappa) Glaarus
Feb 28 2010 8:00P
dampfzentrale / raw materials (iyer/mahanthappa) Berne
Mar 2 2010 8:00P
vooruit / raw materials (iyer/mahanthappa) G(h)ent
Mar 4 2010 8:00P
spielboden / raw materials (iyer/mahanthappa) Dornbirn
Mar 19 2010 7:30P
institute for advanced study / vijay iyer + craig taborn: solo & duo piano Princeton, New Jersey
Mar 20 2010 7:30P
institute for advanced study / vijay iyer + craig taborn: solo & duo piano Princeton, New Jersey
Apr 13 2010 8:00P
fasching / vijay iyer trio Stockholm
Apr 14 2010 8:00P
usf sardinen / vijay iyer trio Bergen
Apr 16 2010 8:00P
gems jazz club singen / vijay iyer trio Singen
Apr 20 2010 8:00P
centralstation / vijay iyer trio Darmstadt
Apr 28 2010 7:30P
american theatre / tirtha (vijay iyer, prasanna, nitin mitta) Hampton, Virginia
Apr 29 2010 7:30P
the strathmore / tirtha (vijay iyer/prasanna/nitin mitta) North Bethesda, Maryland
May 1 2010 7:30P
grand opera house / tirtha (vijay iyer/prasanna/nitin mitta) Wilmington, Delaware
May 8 2010 7:30P
Idyllwild Arts Academy / residency Idyllwild, California
May 9 2010 7:30P
Idyllwild Arts Academy / residency Idyllwild, California

Vijay Iyer's Latest Blog Entry  [Subscribe to this Blog]

"historicity" album release  (view more)

listen to the entire new album here  (view more)

Vijay Iyer Trio . Galang (trio riot version) + about the new album "Historicity"  (view more)

duo tour, blindfold test, new tracks, other news  (view more)

trio dates  (view more)

[View All Blog Entries]

   About Vijay Iyer


"presto! here is the new great jazz piano trio." - ben ratliff, the new york times



"By now, there can be no doubt that pianist-composer Iyer stands among the most daringly original jazz artists of the under-40 generation," writes Howard Reich in the Chicago Tribune. The American-born son of Indian immigrants, VIJAY IYER (pronounced "VID-jay EYE-yur") is a self-taught creative musician grounded in American jazz and popular forms, and drawing from a wide range of Western and non-Western traditions. He was described by The Village Voice as "the most commanding pianist and composer to emerge in recent years," by The New Yorker as one of "today's most important pianists... extravagantly gifted," and by the L.A. Weekly as "a boundless and deeply important young star."

The breadth and depth of Iyer's recorded output defy any simple description. His music has covered so much ground at such a high level of acclaim that it is easy to forget that it all belongs to the same person. His newest album, Historicity, Iyer's first piano trio album and his debut for ACT Records, featuring an astonishing set of covers rendered in his signature style. It has already received universal acclaim across Europe, and Ben Ratliff hailed it in The New York Times, writing, "Presto! Here is the great new jazz piano trio." Over the previous decade, his celebrated quartet mined "the magical and murky, imagined interzone, where the music of the Indo-Asian Diaspora meets the Western Jazz tradition... establish[ing] the next extension in both traditions" (All Music Guide). They document "some of the freshest, most compelling jazz today" (NPR) on four critically hailed discs, Panoptic Modes (2001), Blood Sutra (2003), Reimagining (2005), and Tragicomic (2008), each garnering glowing worldwide praise. But alongside these works sit several vastly different, equally important and groundbreaking collaborations. Foremost are In What Language? (2004) and Still Life with Commentator (2007), Iyer's politically searing, stylistically omnivorous large-scale works with poet-performer Mike Ladd ("unfailingly imaginative and significant" - JazzTimes). On another end of the spectrum, Your Life Flashes (2002), Simulated Progress (2005), and Door (2008) capture the innovations of the experimental collective Fieldwork ("phenomenal... incredible, challenging, and forward-thinking" - All Music Guide). And last but not least, Raw Materials (2006, "a total triumph from beginning to end" - All About Jazz) documents "one of the great partnerships in jazz" (Chicago Tribune) - the duo of Iyer and saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa. All of Iyer's albums have appeared on best-of-the-year lists in dozens of major media, ranging from JazzTimes, Jazzwise, Jazzman, Downbeat, and The Wire, to ArtForum, National Public Radio, The Utne Reader, The New Yorker, and The Village Voice.

As significant as his recordings have been in the jazz world, Iyer's eclectic accomplishments extend well beyond them. Iyer recently contributed a remix for the reissue of British Asian electronica pioneer Talvin Singh's Mercury Prize-winning OK, and created a series of cues for the television sports channel ESPN. Iyer's quintet suite Far From Over, commissioned by the 2008 Chicago Jazz Festival and debuted before an audience of 30,000, and was praised in the Chicago Tribune as "making music history... a potential masterpiece... searing, original, and dramatically charged... a shattering, epic composition." His orchestral work Interventions was commissioned and premiered by the American Composers Orchestra in March 2007 under the baton of Dennis Russell Davies. It was praised by The New York Times as "all spiky and sonorous" and by the Philadelphia City Paper for its "heft and dramatic vision and a daring sense of soundscape." Other works include Mutations I-X (2005) commissioned and premiered by the string quartet Ethel; Three Episodes for Wind Quintet (1999) written for Imani Winds; a "ravishing" (Variety) score for the original theater/dance work Betrothed (2007); and the prize-winning score for Teza (2008) by legendary filmmaker Haile Gerima.

Across this diverse output, Iyer's artistic vision remains unmistakable. His powerful, cutting-edge music is firmly grounded in groove and pulse, but also rhythmically intricate and highly interactive; fluidly improvisational, yet uncannily orchestrated; emotionally compelling, as well as innovative in texture, style, and musical form. Its many points of reference include jazz piano titans such as Monk, Ellington, Tyner, Alice Coltrane, Andrew Hill, and Randy Weston; the classical sonorities of composers such as Reich, Ligeti, Debussy, and Bartok; the low-end sonics of rock, soul, funk, hip-hop, dub, and electronica; the intricate polyphonies of African drumming; and the vital, hypnotic music of Iyer's Indian heritage.

A perennial critical favorite, Iyer has repeatedly won multiple categories of the Downbeat Magazine International Critics' Poll, including Rising Star Jazz Artist (2006, 2007), Rising Star Composer (2006, 2007), and Rising Star Pianist (2009). In 2008-2009 he graced the covers of four major jazz magazines - Downbeat (US), Jazzwise (UK), JazzThetik (Germany) and JazzPodium (Germany). He was previously named Up & Coming Musician of the Year in the Jazz Journalists Association's Annual Jazz Awards. His many other honors include the prestigious 2003 CalArts Alpert Award in the Arts and a 2006 Fellowship in Music Composition from New York Foundation for the Arts. As a composer/performer, Iyer has received commissioning grants from the Rockefeller Foundation MAP Fund (2000, 2001, 2005, 2009), the New York State Council on the Arts (2002), Creative Capital Foundation (2002), Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust (2002, 2004), American Composers Forum (2005), Chamber Music America (2005), Meet The Composer (2006), and the Jazz Institute of Chicago (2008).

Iyer has joined forces with a wide range of contemporary artists, including Steve Coleman, Roscoe Mitchell, Amiri Baraka, Wadada Leo Smith, Dead Prez, Amina Claudine Myers, Butch Morris, George Lewis, Oliver Lake, Miya Masaoka, Matana Roberts, Trichy Sankaran, Samir Chatterjee, Pamela Z, Imani Uzuri, Will Power, Suphala, Dafnis Prieto, Burnt Sugar, Karsh Kale, Shujaat Khan, DJ Spooky, John Zorn, Bill Morrison, and many others.

A polymath whose work has spanned the sciences, arts, and humanities, Iyer holds a B.S. in Mathematics and Physics from Yale College, and a Masters in Physics and an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Technology and the Arts from the University of California at Berkeley. He was chosen as one of nine "Revolutionary Minds" in the science magazine Seed, and his research in music cognition has been featured on the radio programs This Week in Science and Studio 360. A faculty member at New York University and The New School University, he has also given master classes and lectures in composition, improvisation, cognitive science, jazz studies, and performance studies at California Institute of the Arts, Columbia University, Harvard University, Manhattan School of Music, and the School for Improvisational Music, among others. His writings appear in Music Perception, Current Musicology, Journal of Consciousness Studies, Critical Studies in Improvisation, Journal for the Society of American Music, and the edited anthologies Uptown Conversation: The New Jazz Studies (Columbia University Press), Sound Unbound (MIT Press), and Arcana IV (Hips Road). He is a Steinway artist.

Management: Steve Cohen, Music and Art Management, Inc.


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   Vijay Iyer's Friend Space (Top 27)
Vijay Iyer has 11024 friends.
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 Stephan Crump 


 Steve Coleman and Five Elements 


 ASIAN DUB FOUNDATION 


 SUN RA 


 Stop The War 


 Pi Recordings 


 Tirtha 


 Pamela Z 


 Tyshawn Sorey 


 Scotty Hard 


 Fieldwork 





Vijay Iyer's Friends Comments
Displaying 25 of 1596 comments  ( View All | Add Comment )
T. CHARLES

T. CHARLES



Nov 4 2009 7:28 PM

CHECK OUT MY NEW REMIXES FROM TAYLOR SWIFT, KATY PERRY, LMFAO, SEAN KINGSTON, AND MORE ON MY PAGE. THESE BEATS ARE FOR SALE PLUS I HAVE MORE BEATS IN DIFFERENT GENRES. HIT ME UP 4 INFO.
Jazz Break

Jazz Break



Nov 4 2009 6:49 PM

*



We appreciate this connection
with you since every new jazz
"friend" is important to us.

New tracks are added to our
Profile Playlist every day, so,
visit often for more Great Jazz.




*
Sayalessandra

Sayalessandra



Nov 1 2009 7:55 PM

Have a great week Vijay! Sayalessandra
Clio Karabelias

Clio Karabelias



Oct 31 2009 8:54 AM

Nice to be connected.....I like your sound.
wishing you the best,
Clio
Jason Lusky - Check out the new tunes!

Jason Lusky - Check out the new tunes!



Oct 29 2009 4:38 PM

Thanks!
Sven Wernau

Sven Wernau
Online Now!


Oct 29 2009 2:12 PM

Hi Vijay!

thank you for the friendship

Herzliche Grüße aus BERLIN!!
Tim Hazanov

Tim Hazanov



Oct 29 2009 10:24 AM

Thanks for the add!!!! I like your music!!!! Best wishes from Russia!!!!!
The Spanish Caravan

The Spanish Caravan



Oct 27 2009 11:10 PM

Blessings, from Music City!
Charles Xavier

Charles Xavier



Oct 27 2009 8:44 PM

Thanks for the friendship,

We’re a new label from San Francisco CA. named Happy Note Records & we just wanted to say hi to the myspace community.

Happy Note Records released "The XMan Cometh -- Expect the Unexpected," The CD earned nationwide radio airplay and is currently available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/charlesxavier and digitally at www.iTunes.com Order the physical CD with the 12-page accompanying booklet as a unique creative present for someone special.

Peace, Love & Happy Note
Intidhar Kammarti

Intidhar Kammarti



Oct 27 2009 5:22 PM

Virage, Escales, Élévation, Mirage are new tracks on my playlist :o) Please discover them and let me know what is your favourite!
Peace for all :o)
Intidhar Kammarti
lullaby orchestra

lullaby orchestra



Oct 26 2009 1:08 AM

Hi!

New track on Lullaby orchestra’s page!

“Allright”
featuring Angela McCluskey

You’re welcome!


Bye
EVRIM TUZUN

EVRIM TUZUN
Online Now!


Oct 22 2009 8:50 AM


Let the Music bless ur soul...
was busy at the studio... so how bout u?




Bill Marconi

Bill Marconi



Oct 19 2009 1:56 PM

THX 4 the add, Vijay!
Murat Verdi

Murat Verdi



Oct 19 2009 12:59 PM

Thanx for adding,
Best wishes,
Murat Verdi
Dario Dolci

Dario Dolci



Oct 19 2009 12:36 PM

Vijay thanks for the add and thanks for your interesting and suggestive music.
Greetings from Argentine.
BODUROV TRIO ON FACEBOOK! CHECK IT OUT!

BODUROV TRIO ON FACEBOOK! CHECK IT OUT!



Oct 16 2009 2:09 PM

Check out the new songs and videos on our profile!!! :)

Greetings from Amsterdam!

Bodurov Trio
Javi Ruibal

Javi Ruibal
Online Now!


Oct 15 2009 10:29 AM

Ask For Glazz !!!
Lara Bello

Lara Bello



Oct 14 2009 6:26 PM



LARA BELLO
"NIÑA PEZ"

NEW ALBUM !!! ¡¡ NUEVO ÁLBUM !!

Escúchalo en www.larabello.com

You can listen it visiting www.larabello.com

Artur Bayramgalin

Artur Bayramgalin



Oct 7 2009 12:41 PM

hi,
THANKS FOR THE FRIENDSHIP!
I am glad to announce the release of my debut CD called "Interro Island". This is my first solo project, which includes original tunes composed and arranged by me. I hope you will enjoy my work!

on CD Baby now!
Bay Records

Bay Records



Oct 2 2009 7:05 PM

Peace, from Music City!



_BAY RECORDS_
Nashville, Tennessee
Gabriel Y’Manah

Gabriel Y’Manah



Oct 1 2009 5:28 PM

Thanks for the add,

Love,

G.
THE WATERS

THE WATERS



Oct 1 2009 2:13 PM

Thanks for the friendship. Have a great week.
Intidhar Kammarti

Intidhar Kammarti



Sep 30 2009 3:41 PM

"Elephant transe" is our new born...
Enjoy it friend and let us know what did you think!
Peace from Tunisia :o)
MY OBSCENE BABY

MY OBSCENE BABY



Sep 30 2009 12:27 AM

I wish everyone had at least one sibling they are like this with... I am sharing this because we all need a good laugh and someone I showed it to literally pissed their panties a little with laughter... Enjoy... I put together a new music video with the kids... It's on my page. <3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_j8fSmWTtw
NWEAMO

NWEAMO



Sep 26 2009 8:51 AM

NWEAMO 09 ELECTRONIC ARTS AND MUSIC FESTIVAL IN SAN DIEGO: OCTOBER 2nd & 3rd @ 8PM SDSU, SAN DIEGO, CA don't miss,,,nweamo.org
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