Product Description

Imagine a pianist with Thelonious Monk s angularity, Cecil Taylor s force, and Andrew Hill s genius, coupled with a profound compositional mind that extends, elevates, and elaborates on the traditions of jazz, world, and Indian music, and you ll get Vijay Iyer, the most critically acclaimed improvisationally oriented artist of this young century. Named the # 1 Rising Star Jazz Artist of the Year and the # 1 Rising Star Composer of the Year in Down Beat magazine s 2006 and 2007 International Critics Poll, this sensational South Asian/American pianist/composer/author/educator has performed and recorded with an impressive roster of stars, from Steve Coleman and John Zorn, to poet Amiri Baraka and the rap duo dead prez, and has presented a number of astonishing CDs as a leader and co-leader.

Any artist blessed with such far-reaching gifts will have something to say. And on Tragicomic, his Sunnyside debut, Iyer delivers a stupendous sonic commentary on our contemporary world. With him is his fabulous quartet, featuring alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, bassist Stephan Crump, and drummer Marcus Gilmore, the grandson of the legendary drum giant Roy Haynes. This twelve-track recording is the augmented version of a previous piece of the same name commissioned by Chamber Music America. Cornel West decodes the blues aesthetic as a tragicomic sensibility stemming from a sustained encounter with arguably history's greatest, cruelest absurdity the kind in which even ultimate purpose and objective order are called into question ... Iyer writes in the CD s liner notes. In our perilous moment of global transition, we have everything to learn from this sensibility. A tragicomic outlook can ease our pains of metamorphosis and help us dream the next phase into being. That's how and why this music was made.

Iyer s music mirrors the complex political, economic, religious and social challenges in today s world, which results in a kind of quantum jazz: a poly-tempoed approach, where two listeners can hear two different time signatures at the same point in a composition. The Coltrane-coded The Weight of Things and Becoming open and close the CD. The four selections from the commissioned work include the florid, Aftermath, the dark, algorhythmic Without Lions, the metronomic, avant-rock number Machine Days and the foreboding Threnody. Other tracks include the introspective Mehndi, contrasted by the mockingly frenetic Macaca Please, which refers to an ethnic slur uttered a couple of years ago by a Virginia senator. The para-reggae pulsations of Bud Powell's Comin' Up is the first of four trio selections (minus Mahanthappa), followed by Window Text and Age of Everything, which swing with syncopations that stretch from South America to the subcontinent. The waltzy I m All Smiles - the CD s only solo piano selection - highlights Iyer s expansive command of the jazz piano tradition.

Track Listing

1. The Weight of Things
2. Macaca Please
3. Aftermath
4. Comin' Up
5. Without Lions
6. Mehndi
7. Age of Everything
8. Window Text
9. I'm All Smiles
10. Machine Days
11. Threnody
12. Becoming

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #57193 in Music
• Released on: 2008-04-22
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .18 pounds

Review
The pianist Vijay Iyer has a mathematical mind; in his compositions there is much to take in. Structurally, they're complex. Iyer is rarely satisfied with one rhythm or one harmony within a tune. Add to that his strikingly original pianistic voice and his rewarding partnership with alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, and you have the makings of a fruitful career.

Iyer's new quartet album, Tragicomic, is another stellar installment in his oeuvre. The title comes from Cornel West's thoughts about the blues aesthetic, and its dichotomous nature suits the recording. The music is a marriage of intellect and power, of brains and brawn. Iyer has absorbed Andrew Hill, McCoy Tyner, Matthew Shipp and others, and that fact comes through whether he plays a burner or a ballad. He and Mahanthappa explore contrasting harmonies as often as they can, and they get up in each other's grills.

Too, Iyer has shown more than a passing interest in hip-hop - what with his collaborations with Mike Ladd - but here the reference is more subtle; it is actually in the drumming of Marcus Gilmore, who is a grandson of Roy Haynes. Rap rhythms are present in several of the tunes, particularly the quick-tempoed "Macaca Pleas," "Comin' Up" and "Machine Days." But Iyer's inquistive mind and broadly ranging interests shouldn't be mistaken for gimmickry. This is highfalutin jazz, and it swings madly. Iyer's fingers dance to the jaunty rhythm of "Age of Everything," which sounds like "Jitterbug Waltz" for the third millenium.
- Steve Greenlee --JazzTimes - June 2008

Review
The material on Tragicomic comes from several sources - including a suite by the same name, a theatrical dance work and Michael Leonard's oft-covered "I'm All Smiles" - yet there is a vein of commonality running through everything here. What binds it all together is pianist Vijay Iyer's ability to create and maintain tension combined with a headlong momentum. Together, these elements command your attention - particularly because when releases come they often follow unusual turns to interesting places.

Like his former mentor Steve Coleman, Iyer is skilled at using interlocking parts and choppy rhythms to generate heat. That's most evident on the surging "Macaca Please," where drummer Marcus Gilmore churns hard behind Iyer's stormy piano, and the alternately funky and spare trio piece "Window Text" with its shifting rhythmic patterns. Another trio perfomance - a take on Bud Powell's "Comin' Up" - smoothes the bop giant's jagged lines somewaht, but keeps the jittery feel of his original through the use of an insistent vamp that keeps reemerging.

When alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa joins the fray - on seven of the dozen pieces - he adds texture and velocity. On the jointly improvised opener, his raw, metallic tone augments Gilmore's cymbal scrapings and the sense of a gathering storm, while on "Without Lions" and "Machine Days" his quick, fluid lines help give the songs their drive.

Two compositions from the stage work Betrothed - the slow, dark "Mehndi" and a processional-like "Becoming" - provide rich contrast.
- James Hale --DownBeat - July 2008

Review
The ability to derive pleasure from pain, to transform ugly despair into rewarding beauty, is a peculiar and necessary element of human resiliency. It s a talent that has sustained the human spirit through some of the worst horrors imaginable. Tragicomedy rightly sees the world as it is, capable of wondrous highs and devastating lows but neither entirely perfect nor fatally flawed.

Pianist Vijay Iyer sees no better time to remind us of the tragicomic perspective than now, when so much about the world seems so dire. As a jazz musician, Iyer s trade is rooted in soul and emotion, a passionate tradition of beautiful art that grew out of tragedy and oppression. He s not just an artist, however; with a Masters in physics from Yale and a Ph.D. in technology and the arts from UC Berkeley, he s a scientist and intellectual.

To Iyer, his album Tragicomic isn t meant to simply reflect the state of our times, it is meant help transform it. Looking at the cavalcade of tragedy that has engulfed the 21st century, particularly in the United States, it would not be hard to despair. Few would argue that these aren t the worst of times. Nevertheless, Iyer sees the turbulence not as the convulsions of a dying entity but instead as the fits and starts of a new being, one ready to emerge from its dreadful cocoon stronger and with greater potential than we might imagine. Tragicomic is a statement of transformation, of bittersweet existence in a world where information is easier to come by but harder to understand.

To accomplish his metamorphic ends, Iyer has drawn together an exceptional ensemble including Marcus Gilmore, bassist Stephen Crump, and alto saxophonist Rudresh Manhanthappa, who was last heard contributing to Amir ElSaffar s exceptional Two Rivers, which also plotted a path through issues of identity and geopolitical turbulence.

Manhanthappa is given the lead on the album s first real dustup, Macaca Please , referring to the racial slur used by former Virginia Senator George Allen to describe a young Indian-American man. Both Iyer and Manhanthappa are of Indian descent, and clearly view this incident as a watershed moment not just for Indian-Americans but for the whole of American culture, which was forced to confront lingering prejudices in a very public way. The saxophone begins with an incessant, almost mocking riff that doubles back on itself before Iyer s piano seizes control with a lightly tapped improvisation that finds strength not through force but through beauty.

Here, and on the delicate Aftermath which follows, Iyer s playing recalls that of Andrew Hill, melodic and tuneful, with an ear for sonorous progressions yet loaded with clever angles and percussive flair. Aftermath isn t the raucous bashing one might expect, but instead a thoughtful and introspective piece that manages to embody its suggestive title with epic subtlety rather than harsh or provocative methods. This approach is epitomized by a very soft, captivating bass solo by Crump, which anchors the track.

The penultimate track, Threnody , and its coda, Becoming , close the album with an encapsulation of Iyer s tragicomic outlook. The former track is a solemn elegy, its name clearly signaling the mood of mourning as the ensemble puts the sounds it has raised throughout the album to rest and buries the negative energy of slurs and alienation, of darkness and despair. It tapers off as if it was a finale and in any other place, it probably would be. After a short respite, however, the shimmering stirring of Becoming slowly builds, somewhat resembling the undercurrent of album opener The Weight of Things , as if to imply a cyclical nature to Tragicomic. Become is different, though; it flutters, slowly emerging into this new environment with the promise of great things to come. --popmatters.com - May 22, 2008 - Michael Patrick Brady

Customer Reviews

Beautifully Complex Compositions
Overview:
With Tragicomic, Vijay Iyer brings back the same group from Reimagining (Rudresh Mahanthappa on sax, Stephen Crump on bass, Marcus Gilmore on drums). The overall mood of the album is a bit more somber and reflective than Reimagining, and a little bit less frenetic. The compositions, and particularly the time signatures and rhythm section have gotten even more complex. At first the rhythmic complexity can seem a bit overwhelming but after a few listens you really start to appreciate the uniqueness of Vijay's style and enjoy the ridiculousness of some of the insane drum and bass lines. Rudresh's sax tends to be a little less of his traditional ballistic assault on scales, and a little bit more lyrical than usual. While I enjoy what he has done in the past it is quite nice to see a more lyrical side of the young star. The highlight of the album are the 4 commissioned pieces from Iyer's Tragicomic Suite (Aftermath, Without Lions, Machine Days, Threnody) where Iyer has taken his compositions skills to another level.

Song Highlights:
The Weight of Things: This gorgeous 2+ minute introduction really sets the mood for the whole album. Mahanthappa's haunting, reflective sax line combined with Iyer's cascading flowing piano segues perfectly into Macaca Please.

Aftermath: The first of 4 songs from the Tragicomic suite opens with a somber repetitive piano line from Iyer, who is quickly joined by a reflective Mahanthappa sax. There is a very epic and somber mood on this track with a lot of feeling.

Without Lions: The track opens with a staccato chord progression that segues into a section with Vijay and Rudresh trade off short solo lines for several minutes. Another fine example of the wonderful chemistry between these two long time friends and collaborators.

Machine Days: Machine Days opens with a heartbeat pounding of Gilmore's bass drum. He is soon joined by Iyer on the low keys. After a short duet, the rest of the band joins in with a frenetic melody (classic Mahanthappa).

Summary: Vijay Iyer has always written complex fascinating songs, and has been a thinking man's favorite. On this release he combines these skills with some of his most emotional and mood inspired work.

groundbreaking
This is a groundbreaking album for contemporary jazz. After "Reimagining" and "Raw Materials", Vijay Iyer and Rudresh Mahanthappa climb to new heights...

Iyer's complex but enjoyable compositons and "m-based piano solos", plus Mahanthappa's groovy style are really great. Stephan Crump on bass and Marcus Gilmore on drums are passionate players who polish the light on these compositions.

"The Weight of Things" is a perfect intro, giving the feel of a tunnel that you're passing to reach the wealth of music. Then came the explosion: "Macaca Please", the structure of compositon is like a whirlpool. "Aftermath" is like a river flowing to infinity. "Comin up" is the summit of trio playing. "Mehndi" is the silent voyage etc... All compositons are great and telling their own stories... There's no blank in this CD... Really perfect...

Hypnotic and exhilarating
This album soothes and excites. It is darkly mesmerizing. It takes you down a path that is both difficult and easing. The vision of both the pianist and the saxaphonist is clear - take the listener on a journey. I usually listen to old school jazz. I enjoy this album, which nods to Keith Jarrett and Charlie Parker without being derivative. It's modern and it's rich.