Home » Jazz News » Performance / Tour

1

Vijay Iyer: Jazz is 'the music of the people'

Source:

Sign in to view read count
Vijay Iyer speaks with missionary fervor about jazz.

For this young award-winning pianist and 2012 recipient of a MacArthur “Genius Grant," playing jazz has little to do with fame.

“The arts are a life of service," Iyer said, speaking from his home in New York City.

“It's not just about success for yourself," he added. “If you look at the history of jazz, it's always been the music of the people."

The Vijay Iyer Trio will offer an admission-free concert at Clemson University's Brooks Center on Thursday.

The performance — featuring Iyer, bassist Stephan Crump and drummer Tyshawn Sorey — is part of center's celebrated Utsey Series.

Iyer, who also happens to be a Harvard professor, is one of the most prominent musicians in the jazz world today.

For Iyer, jazz is a musical form with a distinguished history that he always keeps in mind — whether he's performing or mentoring young musicians at Harvard.

“Jazz has always been connected to a struggle for liberation," Iyer said. “The people who mentored me, African-American pioneers, they all instilled me with that sensibility. I like to feel part of that continuum, part of that history and community that has a shared set of values about creativity, self-determination and justice."

Iyer's original music reflects those sentiments. In addition to his work with the trio, Iyer has collaborated on three politically themed pieces with the poet Mike Ladd. One of those, “Holding It Down: The Veterans' Dream Project," is based on the dreams of minority veterans of America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Among his many honors, Iyer won an unprecedented “quintuple crown" in the 2012 Downbeat International Critics Poll — for Jazz Artist of the Year, Pianist of the Year, Jazz Album of the Year, Jazz Group of the Year, and Rising Star Composer.

At the Brooks Center, Iyer will likely feature original numbers from two recent acclaimed albums, “Accelerando" and “Historicity," both featuring his trio, recently described by PopMatters as “the best band in jazz."

Both albums won No. 1 Jazz Album of the Year distinctions from such publications as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Downbeat magazine.

The 2012 “Accelerando" demonstrated Iyer's “knack for making prickly experimentalism feel approachable, intuitive, even stylish," wrote The New York Times.

Born in Albany and raised in Rochester by immigrant parents, Iyer (his full name is pronounced VID-jay EYE-yer) received his only formal musical training on violin.

Continue Reading...

Comments

Tags

Jazz Near South Carolina
Events Guide | Venue Guide | Local Businesses | More...

News

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.