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Vijay Iyer

Composer-pianist VIJAY IYER (pronounced “VID-jay EYE-yer”) has carved out a unique path as an influential, prolific, shape-shifting presence in modern music. He was described by Pitchfork as "one of the best in the world at what he does," by the Los Angeles Weekly as “a boundless and deeply important young star,” by the New York Times as a “social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, historical thinker and multicultural gateway,” and by Minnesota Public Radio as “an American treasure.” A musical innovator, an active collaborator, and a member of multiple artistic communities, Iyer continues to reimagine the role of the musician in the 21st century. Iyer’s Uneasy, a trio recording made with his friends and collaborators Linda May Han Oh on bass and Tyshawn Sorey on drums, was released by ECM in April 2021 to wide acclaim, the Boston Globe calling it “extraordinary,” and noting it as “another entry in Iyer’s extensive oeuvre, reaffirming his status as one of the most creative figures in improvised music.”

Iyer has been voted DownBeat Magazine's Artist of the Year four times - in 2018, 2016, 2015 and 2012 - and Artist of the Year in Jazz Times' Critics' and Readers' Polls for 2017. Iyer was named a 2017 United States Artists Fellow, a 2013 MacArthur Fellow, and a 2012 Doris Duke Performing Artist. For 2022, Iyer was voted “Pianist of the Year” by the Jazz Journalists’ Association. He holds a lifetime appointment as the Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts at Harvard University, with a joint affiliation with the Department of Music and the Department of African and African American Studies. 

The New York Times observed, “There’s probably no frame wide enough to encompass the creative output of the pianist Vijay Iyer.” Iyer has released twenty-three albums covering remarkably diverse terrain, most recently for the ECM label. 2019 brings the release of The Transitory Poems, a live two-piano improvisation with Iyer’s longtime colleague and label-mate, Craig Taborn. Prior to that, Iyer’s sextet album Far From Over (2017) was ranked #1 in US National Public Radio's annual Jazz Critics' Poll, surveying 157 critics. It was named among the best jazz albums of the year in the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, Slate, and The New York Times, and the only “jazz release” in Rolling Stone’s list of the 50 best records of 2017. Iyer’s Sextet was voted 2018 Jazz Group of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association.

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Album Review

Vijay Iyer: Compassion

Read "Compassion" reviewed by Mario Calvitti


L'ottavo album da titolare del pianista Vijay Iyer per la ECM è anche il primo a riprendere una formazione già utilizzata, per la precisione nel precedente Uneasy pubblicato nel 2021, non considerando un altro disco in trio ma con differenti interpreti (Break Stuff, del 2015). Negli altri lavori Iyer ha spaziato dalla suite cameristica con un quartetto d'archi (Mutations) al sestetto (Far from Home), dai duetti con Wadada Leo Smith e Craig Taborn (a cosmic rhythm with each stroke e ...

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Radio & Podcasts

Vijay Iyer, Too Many Zooz, Annie Chen, Jacky Terrasson & More

Read "Vijay Iyer, Too Many Zooz, Annie Chen, Jacky Terrasson & More" reviewed by Ludovico Granvassu


Welcome to your weekly fix of recent and upcoming releases, from the seismic brasshouse of Too Many Zooz to the re-imagining of Sun Ra's The Magic City by Meshell Ndegeocello, and a whole lot in between. Happy listening! Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Too Many Zooz “Nowhere Else to Go" Retail Therapy (Self-produced) 0:16 Host talks 4:11 Jonathan Suazo “Don't Take Kindly" Ricano (Ropeadope) 6:25 Meshell Ndegeocello “Departure ...

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Live Review

Vijay Iyer and Friends Pay Tribute to Andrew Hill

Read "Vijay Iyer and Friends Pay Tribute to Andrew Hill" reviewed by Paul Reynolds


Eternal Spirit: Vijay Iyer & Friends Celebrate the Music of Andrew HillHarlem StageNew York, NYMarch 1, 2024 From the start, “Eternal Spirit: Vijay Iyer & Friends Celebrate the Music of Andrew Hill" was no standard tribute. The show's distinctions crystallized during a sublime, uninterrupted 15 minutes of music near the end of the set--which was the first of two near-sold-out evenings presented at Harlem Stage. The peak quarter-hour began with a gentle, crystalline ...

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Album Review

Vijay Iyer: Compassion

Read "Compassion" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


As the title track of Compassion gets conjured up on a rubato tumble of Tyshawn Sorey's cymbals, bassist Linda May Han Oh begins her work which--on all of Compassion--is herculean. Vijay Iyer ushers in, and a quiet thing of beauty gets underway. It is one of the album's monster tracks. And eleven more tracks follow. Much like the trio's 2021 ECM effort Uneasy, Compassion makes for a most intense and most satisfying listen. “Arch" is a vivid display ...

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Album Review

Vijay Iyer: Compassion

Read "Compassion" reviewed by Neil Duggan


The term “Supergroup" is often over-used. It usually refers to a group whose members are already successful as solo artists. In rock music, it often referred to members of a successful rock group who got together for a recording, frequently disbanding later. Fortunately, Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh and Tyshawn Sorey are going from strength to strength, showing no sign of disbanding and wholly justifying the term Supergroup. Compassion is their second album as a trio, following 2021's Uneasy ...

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Album Review

Vijay Iyer: Compassion

Read "Compassion" reviewed by Doug Collette


Vijay Iyer's Compassion should ratify his position alongside Brad Mehldau and Fred Hersch in the pantheon of contemporary jazz pianists/composers. That is, if previous, comparably stellar titles such as Historicity (Act Music, 2009) haven't already elevated his position accordingly. Once again in the company of bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Tyshawn Sorey, the visionary musician leads an ensemble that formulates an exquisite redefinition of jazz's well-established instrumental concept of the piano trio. Having released twenty albums ...

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Radio & Podcasts

Pianists and More Pianists

Read "Pianists and More Pianists" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


This episode features pianists from many corners of the jazz world as soloists and bandleaders. The players heard include Vijay Iyer, Jaki Byard, Duke Ellington, Lafayette Gilchrist, and Martin Bejerano. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) 00:00 Mike Bond “Chase The Wind" from The Honorable Ones (Bounce Castle) 00:59 Chick Corea “This is New" from Tones For Joan's Bones (Collectables) ...

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Recording

Debut Recording Of Vijay Iyer’s Orchestral Works To Be Released June 11th

Debut Recording  Of Vijay Iyer’s Orchestral Works To Be Released June 11th

Source: AMT Public Relations

Conducted by Gil Rose with performances by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) and soloist Jennifer Koh (violin) Approaching its landmark 100th album, the Grammy Award-winning Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) led by conductor Gil Rose releases Vijay Iyer: Trouble on its eponymous label, BMOP/sound. Marking his debut recording as an orchestral composer, polymath Vijay Iyer showcases his high-minded yet emotionally expressive approach to music-making with this collection of bustling textures, surprising forms, and pulsating rhythms. Vijay Iyer: Trouble comprises ...

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Performance / Tour

Harlem Stage Presents Eternal Spirit: Vijay Iyer & Friends Celebrate the Music of Andrew Hill on March 1-2, 2024

Harlem Stage Presents Eternal Spirit: Vijay Iyer & Friends Celebrate the Music of Andrew Hill on March 1-2, 2024

Source: Michael Ricci

Friday, March 1, 2024 7:30 PM 9:30 PM Additional Performances March 2, 2024—7:30PM Harlem Stage 150 Convent Avenue New York, NY 10031 (212) 281-9240 Seating: Reserved Seating Described by The New York Times as a “social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, historical thinker, and multicultural gateway,” composer and pianist Vijay Iyer is one of the leading music-makers of his generation. Iyer returns, following his Harlem Stage commissioned work, Holding It Down, to guest curate and perform in ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Vijay Iyer

Jazz Musician of the Day: Vijay Iyer

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Vijay Iyer's birthday today!

Grammy-nominated composer-pianist Vijay Iyer (pronounced “VID-jay EYE-yer”) was described by Pitchfork as “one of the most interesting & vital young pianists in jazz today,” by the Los Angeles Weekly as “a boundless and deeply important young star,” and by Minnesota Public Radio as “an American treasure.” He has been voted DownBeat Magazine’s Artist of the Year three times – in 2016, 2015 and 2012. Iyer was named Downbeat’s 2014 Pianist of ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Vijay Iyer

Jazz Musician of the Day: Vijay Iyer

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Vijay Iyer's birthday today!

Grammy-nominated composer-pianist Vijay Iyer (pronounced “VID-jay EYE-yer”) was described by Pitchfork as “one of the most interesting & vital young pianists in jazz today,” by the Los Angeles Weekly as “a boundless and deeply important young star,” and by Minnesota Public Radio as “an American treasure.” He has been voted DownBeat Magazine’s Artist of the Year three times – in 2016, 2015 and 2012. Iyer was named Downbeat’s 2014 Pianist of ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Vijay Iyer

Jazz Musician of the Day: Vijay Iyer

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Vijay Iyer's birthday today!

Grammy-nominated composer-pianist Vijay Iyer (pronounced “VID-jay EYE-yer”) was described by Pitchfork as “one of the most interesting & vital young pianists in jazz today,” by the Los Angeles Weekly as “a boundless and deeply important young star,” and by Minnesota Public Radio as “an American treasure.” He has been voted DownBeat Magazine’s Artist of the Year three times – in 2016, 2015 and 2012. Iyer was named Downbeat’s 2014 Pianist of ...

1

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Vijay Iyer

Jazz Musician of the Day: Vijay Iyer

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Vijay Iyer's birthday today!

Grammy-nominated composer-pianist Vijay Iyer (pronounced “VID-jay EYE-yer”) was described by Pitchfork as “one of the most interesting & vital young pianists in jazz today,” by the Los Angeles Weekly as “a boundless and deeply important young star,” and by Minnesota Public Radio as “an American treasure.” He has been voted DownBeat Magazine’s Artist of the Year three times – in 2016, 2015 and 2012... Read more.

Place our Musician of the ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Vijay Iyer

Jazz Musician of the Day: Vijay Iyer

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Vijay Iyer's birthday today!

Grammy-nominated composer-pianist Vijay Iyer (pronounced “VID-jay EYE-yer”) was described by Pitchfork as “one of the most interesting & vital young pianists in jazz today,” by the Los Angeles Weekly as “a boundless and deeply important young star,” and by Minnesota Public Radio as “an American treasure.” He has been voted DownBeat Magazine’s Artist of the Year three times – in 2016, 2015 and 2012... Read more.

Place our Musician of the ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Vijay Iyer

Jazz Musician of the Day: Vijay Iyer

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Vijay Iyer's birthday today!

“a boundless and deeply important young star" —LA Weekly “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-yer") is a self-taught creative musician grounded in American jazz and popular forms... Read more.

Place our Musician of the Day widget on ...

4

Recording

Four New Releases From ECM Records: Vijay Iyer Sextet, Tim Berne's Snakeoil, Gary Peacock Trio, and David Virelles

Four New Releases From ECM Records: Vijay Iyer Sextet, Tim Berne's Snakeoil, Gary Peacock Trio, and David Virelles

Source: Universal Music Group

August 25 Vijay Iyer Sextet Far From Over Vijay Iyer: piano, fender rhodes; Graham Haynes: cornet, flugelhorn, electronics Steve Lehman: alto saxophone; Mark Shim: tenor saxophone; Stephan Crump: double bass Tyshawn Sorey: drums Keyboardist-composer Vijay Iyer’s energized sequence of ECM releases has garnered copious international praise. Yet his fifth for the label since 2014—Far From Over, featuring his dynamically commanding sextet—finds Iyer reaching a new peak, furthering an artistry that led The Guardian to call him “one of ...

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Video / DVD

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Vijay Iyer's continuing evolution

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Vijay Iyer's continuing evolution

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

This week, let's peruse some videos featuring pianist Vijay Iyer, who will return with his trio to perform Wednesday, November 30 through Saturday, December 3 at Jazz at the Bistro. Iyer, who last played St. Louis in January 2010 at the Bistro, has become one of the most acclaimed jazz musicians of the last decade, having won DownBeat's “Artist of the Year" award in 2016, 2015 and 2012, plus a whole trophy room's worth of other prizes. One of those ...

“There’s probably no frame wide enough to encompass the creative output of the pianist Vijay Iyer.”  - The New York Times

“Trailblazing… one of his generation’s brightest jazz luminaries” - Time Out New York

“One of the world’s most inventive new-generation jazz pianists” – Guardian (UK)

“[one of] today’s most important pianists... extravagantly gifted... brilliantly eclectic”– The New Yorker

“The Vijay Iyer Trio has the potential to alter the scope, ambition and language of jazz piano forever.” -Jazzwise (UK)

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Photos

Concerts

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Compassion

ECM Records
2024

buy

Uneasy

ECM Records
2021

buy

Brass And Ivory Tales

Fundacja Sluchaj
2021

buy

InWhatStrumentals

Pi Recordings
2020

buy

Far from Over

ECM Records
2017

buy

Lude

From: Accelerando
By Vijay Iyer

The Gulf

From: Orange Afternoons
By Vijay Iyer

Videos

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