We’ve written before about jazz musician/composer Vijay Iyer. There’s one simple reason why we cover his appearances so much: he’s easily one of the most inventive and innovative jazz musicians and composers working today. He often plays fairly large venues. This weekend, the Vijay Iyer Sextet be performing at The Soraya on Friday and Saturday. But you’ll have a chance to be up-close as all the seating is on stage with the sextet for these two performances.
In 2018 Vijay Iyer was named DownBeat Magazine’s Jazz Artist of the Year. On the heels of the release of their widely-acclaimed recording, Far From Over on ECM Records, the Vjay Iyer Sextet was also named Jazz Group of the Year. If you’re counting, this is the 4th time Iyer was named Jazz Artist of the Year.
The members of the Vijay Iyer Sextet in addition to the bandleader are Graham Haynes: flugelhorn – Steve Lehman: alto saxophone – Mark Shim: tenor saxophone – Stephan Crump: double-bass – Tyshawn Storey: drums.
What impressed critics and fans about Far From Over was the way Iyer mixes a wide range of influences that includes, in addition to jazz, sounds of African drumming, folk music, Indian music and more.
While the Recording Academy has been slowed to recognize Iyer with Grammy Awards or nominations (he only has one so far), he was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2013 and in 2017 served as the Music Director for that year’s Ojai Music Festival.
Iyer and pianist Craig Taborn just released a new ECM record, The Transitory Poems (Live at Liszt Academy, Budapest 2018) in March to another round of high praise from critics.
It would be, perhaps, unwise to call Vijay Iyer a thinking-man’s jazz musician and composer. But it wouldn’t be wrong either. His work has an intelligence and a desire to explore beyond the established norms of what jazz is in 2019.
If you are a fan of jazz music, I strongly urge you to get whatever remaining tickets might be available for Friday night’s performance.
For tickets on Friday night go here. Saturday’s performance is sold out.
Photo of Vijay Iyer by Lena Adasheva/Courtesy of The Soraya