Historicity
Jazz
| Oct 2009
Reviews
Fo
Reviewed 2009-10-18
Reviewed 2009-10-18
VIJAY IYER: Historicity
ACT Music, 2009
MODERN JAZZ – Pianist Vijay Iyer continues to break fresh ground, here with a striking set of highly rhythmic trio pieces. Deep, intensely cerebral but also quite accessible, this is music that pulls you along as it moves through shifting permutations. Only four tacks are originals (that title is no accident), but the eclectic material all has Iyer’s unmistakably vivid stamp. Brilliant work, any easy pick for one of the year’s best…
* * * * * | Every track a winner!
1. 7:48 – complex rhythmic layers, piano broods & leaps, phrases break apart
2. 6:57 – “West Side Story” ballad deconstructed over firm, strolling bass
3. 2:34 – heavy boom-box dancehall breakbeat (cover of an M.I.A. song!)
4. 4:00 – furrowed-brow music: moody piano/bass, diffuse drums; speeds up
5. 8:07 – Andrew Hill tune: fluid piano roams broadly over thick, lumpy rhythm
6. 4:48 – heavy piano, bowed bass, thudding drums…. a Stevie Wonder song!
7. 9:18 – thick, exotic drag: deep bass groan, trilling piano creeps & prances
8. 4:55 – sweeeeet cover of a famously sampled soul-jazz/hip-hop vamp
9. 9:05 – lyrical, but heavy & rather stark; turbulence creeps in from the edges
10. 4:03 – slow, contemplative: haunting melody from piano to bass & back
[ Fo ] 10/18/09
ACT Music, 2009
MODERN JAZZ – Pianist Vijay Iyer continues to break fresh ground, here with a striking set of highly rhythmic trio pieces. Deep, intensely cerebral but also quite accessible, this is music that pulls you along as it moves through shifting permutations. Only four tacks are originals (that title is no accident), but the eclectic material all has Iyer’s unmistakably vivid stamp. Brilliant work, any easy pick for one of the year’s best…
* * * * * | Every track a winner!
1. 7:48 – complex rhythmic layers, piano broods & leaps, phrases break apart
2. 6:57 – “West Side Story” ballad deconstructed over firm, strolling bass
3. 2:34 – heavy boom-box dancehall breakbeat (cover of an M.I.A. song!)
4. 4:00 – furrowed-brow music: moody piano/bass, diffuse drums; speeds up
5. 8:07 – Andrew Hill tune: fluid piano roams broadly over thick, lumpy rhythm
6. 4:48 – heavy piano, bowed bass, thudding drums…. a Stevie Wonder song!
7. 9:18 – thick, exotic drag: deep bass groan, trilling piano creeps & prances
8. 4:55 – sweeeeet cover of a famously sampled soul-jazz/hip-hop vamp
9. 9:05 – lyrical, but heavy & rather stark; turbulence creeps in from the edges
10. 4:03 – slow, contemplative: haunting melody from piano to bass & back
[ Fo ] 10/18/09
Recent airplay
Mystic Brew (Trixation Version)
Rebop — Aug 29, 2022
Somewhere
Rebop — Aug 01, 2022
Galang (Trio Riot Version)
No Cover, No Minimum — Nov 01, 2018
Somewhere
No Cover, No Minimum — Nov 09, 2017
Galang (Trio Riot Version)
It's Bollywood It's Hollywood — Jun 13, 2017
Mystic Brew (Trixation Version)
It's Bollywood, It's Hollywood — Apr 12, 2016
Charting
2009-10-18 — 2009-12-20
Jazz
| Week Ending | Airplays |
|---|---|
| Dec 20 | 4 |
| Dec 6 | 2 |
| Nov 29 | 4 |
| Nov 22 | 2 |
| Nov 15 | 1 |
| Nov 1 | 3 |
| Oct 25 | 2 |
Track listing
| 1. | Historicity | ||
| 2. | Somewhere | ||
| 3. | Galang (Trio Riot Version) | ||
| 4. | Helix | ||
| 5. | Smoke Stack | ||
| 6. | Big Brother | ||
| 7. | Dogon A.D. | ||
| 8. | Mystic Brew (Trixation Version) | ||
| 9. | Trident: 2010 | ||
| 10. | Segment For Sentiment #2 |