The great thing about seeing someone in concert with whom you are already familiar is that you get to discover other artists you aren’t. I felt that way when I first saw Avishai Cohen perform and Gadi Lehavi was his pianist at the blue whale in 2017. One month earlier I discovered Cécile McLorin Salvant when she was the opening act for Brian Ferry. And it happened again a little more than a week ago when I saw the Vijay Iyer Sextet at The Soraya. Iyer always has great musicians, but I wasn’t prepared for drummer Jeremy Dutton.
Playing with Iyer means all the musicians have to be on their toes and always ready for wherever the playing takes any one of them and, by extension, where it will takes the others afterwards. As the anchor to the sextet, Dutton appeared to be playing primarily with his eyes closed. I could hear him listening. I could see him feeling the music. Every choice he made seemed perfectly in synch with the music being played and fully aware of where it might be going.
Playing with Iyer also means you have to be versatile. What might start out as a more traditional jazz piece could morph into something more experimental or something with a bit more funk. The clip below showcases Iyer’s range of music. This is his trio with Dutton on drums.
I know there are some who don’t like jazz and use the drum solo as a reason for hating live jazz in particular. At the second of the two concerts in Northridge, Dutton was on fire in his solo. I am a trained pianist and I always look forward to both the piano and saxophone solos more than anything else. But this night it was the drumming. Dutton’s solo could have lasted twice the amount of time it did and I know I would have still been just as mesmerized.
In a review of one of Iyer’s 2018 concerts, The Guardian said of Dutton’s playing, “His solos start like a carpenter constructing a shed, funkily, before mutating into epic, polyrhythmic symphonies.”
Calling someone a thinking-man’s drummer probably doesn’t sound like a compliment. I firmly believe that Dutton is one of the most intelligent drummers working in music today. I hope Iyer continues to work with him as long as he can. But don’t be surprised if Dutton finds a way to break out on his own and set a new standard for what drumming can be.
Iyer has a few regular drummers. If he comes to your town keep your fingers crossed that he’s brought Jeremy Dutton with him. If he doesn’t, keep your eyes out for whatever Dutton chooses to do next.
Main photo by Anna Yatskevich