Vijay Iyer - Reimagining

[GA Russell]

I see that Vijay Iyer's Reimagining is now available from BMG/Your Music.

A quick search shows that it was one of Nate Dorward's many favorites of 2005.

Does anyone else have an opinion of this one? What's it like, free jazz?

In the quote from Thom Jurek's AMG review, there is emphasis on Iyer being unique. I'm not sure that I lke that! Sounds ominous.

What do you think?

[gnhrtg]

I like this album, would give it at least 4 stars out of 5. You get an inventive bass + drum pair doing a good job on Iyer's compositions (mostly in forms you're not used to hearing and rhythmically demanding, and also not sounding all that flowing - even though they have no trouble playing it) and you get some interesting solos by Iyer but also have a chance to hear Mahanthappa's flights (where the closest comparison I can think of, to give you a rough idea is the way Steve Coleman and Greg Osby play - though because of his tone and inflections, not to mention his vocabularly, I can tell Mahanthappa apart in a second). I still like Mahanthappa better on his own two albums but since you asked about this, I think you'd want to hear it - as the music and the way they solo is different and it's all handled very ably, so even if you end up disliking it, I think it's worth hearing their music to know how else people are playing jazz - it isn't free jazz in that it's very structured but isn't too easy on the ears, this is because the bass, piano, and sax would somtimes play different - and not diatonic sounding - lines on top of each other, at first you can hardly count the tune let alone tap your feet to it, and both because of the rhythmic issues but also because Iyer writes that way, the lines aren't exactly flowing and smooth.

Iyer builds his solos more from cells of ideas which get developed through repetition and extrapolation - so they're more structural whereas with Mahanthappa there's is more of a sense of someone playing in the moment, though he still has his tricks and licks.

Edited January 24, 2006 by gnhrtg

[jlhoots]

Excellent CD.

[Д.Д.]

Outstanding music, really. I actually hear at a "very flowing" music with (excellent) drummer proividing a constant drive.

[PHILLYQ]

I just bought it and I've listened to it twice and want to listen some more

[GA Russell]

Thanks for your input! I've added it to my queue.

Here's the Your Music link to this album:

http://www.yourmusic.com/browse/album/Vija...ing-118787.html

[gnhrtg]

Outstanding music, really. I actually hear at a "very flowing" music with (excellent) drummer proividing a constant drive.

I agree that Gilmore is a good drummer, only, he could be more comfortable with the music (thus make even stronger contributions), as when I saw them live last summer Iyer happened to guide him into the meter on a few occasions.

[Д.Д.]

Outstanding music, really. I actually hear at a "very flowing" music with (excellent) drummer proividing a constant drive.

I agree that Gilmore is a good drummer, only, he could be more comfortable with the music (thus make even stronger contributions), as when I saw them live last summer Iyer happened to guide him into the meter on a few occasions.

Hmm, I thought he sounds very confident (and prominent) on record.

The guy is not even 20, as I understand (and a grandson of Roy Haynes).

[gnhrtg]

Hmm, I thought he sounds very confident (and prominent) on record.

The guy is not even 20, as I understand (and a grandson of Roy Haynes).

Agreed again - I'm just sharing what I saw live, and I still think he's a good drummer (played a killer solo near the end of the set). Yes, should be 20 this year and Haynes is his grandfather. We'll be hearing more from him, I'm pretty sure. He also plays on Steve Coleman's latest album - which is a double disc release and each disc also has a DVD side, one is a 30 minute interview with Coleman and the other is a 20 minute duo performance, with Coleman and Gilmore, of Little Willie Leaps - quite informal, from one of their rehearsals. There's also a short caption before the performance where Coleman speaks quite highyl of Gilmore (I might have misheard but I think he said Branford was the one to bring Gilmore to his attention).

[sal]

This is a very fine CD....one of last year's best.

[GA Russell]

I opened it up tonight. It was a Your Music queue selection from some time ago.

I like it, but I'm going to need a little time for it to grow on me. I'll agree with the AMG statement quoted above that Iyer is unique. I can't think of anyone he reminds me of, although generally this is something I might expect to find on the ECM label.

I like the sax player Rudresh Mahanthappa. I wish he had a larger role.

[sal]

Iyer and Mahanthrappa are two of the most exciting figures in modern jazz, me thinks.

GA Russell, I'm curious, why do you think the music sounds ECM-ish?

[kh1958]

That is puzzling--his music seems the opposite of ECMish.

The duet album with Rudresh Mahanthappa, Raw Materials, is quite good.

His new one is another experimental collaboration with Mike Ladd, Still Life with Commentator.

[GA Russell]

Guys, I am not referring to the classic spacy ECM sound.

What I have in mind is the dryness of the compositions, and maybe his touch on the keyboard.

Maybe you can think of another label you think Iyer would be more at home at.

[sal]

I think he's doing just fine wherever he is (I don't know what label he's on). As you said before, he's somewhat uncatagorizable, so why try to catagorize him?

[kh1958]

He's on Savoy.

[GregK]

I thought he was on Pi

[kh1958]

His three most recent recordings are on Savoy. In What Language was on Pi.