|
the latest release by the esteemed young composer-pianist VIJAY IYER: Panoptic Modes Click here for Liner Notes |
 |
 Click here for Liner Notes "bracingly
expressionist jazz.. full of pulsating blues."
- The New York Times "powerful..
a wild card.. a singular take on piano rhythm."
|
Dubbed
a rising star by Time Out New York, Vijay Iyer is a singular talent
a forceful, rhythmic pianist who weds a cutting-edge sensibility to a
unique
sense for compositional balance. In a recent feature on Iyer,
Village
Voice critic Gary Giddins wrote, "he has aligned himself with the
percussive
school of jazz piano Ellington, Hines, Monk, Powell, Taylor,
Nichols,
Weston, Tyner, and the rest and you can hear the influences at
work,
but he doesn't sound like any of them" His sound is his own, and you
would
recognize it in a blindfold test." An exceptional, forward-thinking
composer,
Mr. Iyer draws from African, Asian, and European musical lineages to
create
highly original music in the creative jazz tradition. His new
album
manages to be highly emotional and structurally sophisticated at the
same
time, with exuberant improvisations anchored in cyclical rhythmic
structures
and ringing harmonies.
Mr. Iyer's group features some of New York's superb up-and-coming talents. Foremost among the pianist's collaborators is the astounding alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, with whom Mr. Iyer shares a unique artistic bond. In a review in the New York Times, Ben Ratliff observed, "One of the best things a young bandleader can hope to do is forge a strong communicative link with one member of his band: it creates a charged, nearly tensile energy that the rest of the group can orient itself around. This is what Vijay Iyer has done with the alto saxophonist in his quartet." Rounded out by the gifted bassist Stephan Crump (from Bobby Previte's ensembles) and fiery young drummer Derrek Phillips (Greg Osby's current choice), the Vijay Iyer Quartet projects equal parts passion and precision. Gary Giddins puts it succinctly: "This band glows with purpose." |
|
"an
oncoming phenomenon, already up to his fingers in the most advanced
music
of our wildly contradictory age."
- Amiri Baraka "impressive..
Iyer's spiky chords, precise phrasing, and surprising linear
improvisations
are consistently compelling."
|
|
| The
son of Indian immigrants, Mr. Iyer was born and raised in upstate New
York,
where he started violin lessons at the age of three. Drawn to his
sister's piano, he started picking out melodies at age six. Entirely
self-taught
as a pianist and composer, he was lured into jazz in his teens,
performing
original music with his own groups throughout college. His choice of a
professional musical career came rather late, after earning a Masters
in
physics at age 22. Then, as his musical accomplishments multiplied, he
still found time to earn an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in music and
cognitive
science at U.C. Berkeley in 1998, after which he immediately relocated
to the jazz mecca, New York City. In addition to frequent New
York
engagements, Mr. Iyer has traveled worldwide as both a leader and a
sideman.
He is currently a member of legendary avant-garde pioneer Roscoe
Mitchell¹s
nine-piece Note Factory. In addition, he collaborated extensively
for six years with the world-renowned saxophonist and composer Steve
Coleman,
appearing at countless major festivals in Europe and Africa and on four
of Coleman's BMG recordings. Mr. Iyer has also joined forces with
innovative
artists such as Cecil Taylor, George Lewis, Gerry Hemingway, ROVA
Saxophone
Quartet, kotoist Miya Masaoka, drum & bass diva Imani Uzuri,
hip-hop
group Midnight Voices, Indian percussionist Trichy Sankaran, and
legendary
poet Amiri Baraka. All of Mr. Iyer's artistic alliances exemplify his
commitment
to new, creative forms of musical expression that reflect his diverse
community.
"keyboard
visionary.. phenomenally talented."
- San Francisco Bay Guardian "a
composer and performer of international significance."
"clearly
an immense musical talent."
|
"Iyer's
versatile ivory skills approximate violence one moment, pristine beauty
the next."
"stunning,
understated but powerful..."
|
photo by David Pickell |
Prior to this album, Iyer released two critically acclaimed discs of original music on Asian Improv Records. The first, Memorophilia, recorded when Iyer was 23 years old, was listed by Cadence magazine editor Bob Rusch as one of the ten best albums of 1996, and by A. Magazine as one of "the 15 most interesting sounds of the decade." His follow-up, Architextures, was hailed as "utterly remarkable" in SonicNet.com's roundup of the ten best jazz records of 2000 (where he was listed alongside Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis), and as "genius... epitomizing new jazz at its best" by the San Francisco Bay Guardian. Panoptic Modes, Mr. Iyer's third album, is a breathtaking, dynamic work of maturity and vision. Gary Giddins suggests that it "whets the appetite for his fourth," and Sonicnet.com describes it as "boldly shaping the direction of jazz to come." |
|
|
Liner Notes For Panoptic Modes |