Vijay Iyer Quartet in Chicago

[ejp626]

Well, it looks like I will have to pass on Bobby at the Showcase (two years straight I've missed him -- damn -- though I did see him with the SF Jazz Collective, and they were definitely on that evening).

But I think Sal and I are going to make it to the Green Mill on Sat. the 14th to see Vijay Iyer Quartet with Rudresh Mahanthappa. Should be a great show. According to the on-line Reader, Friday's show is 9 PM and Sat. is 8 PM. I'll correct this if different. Let us know if you think you'll be dropping in.

[sheldonm]

Well, it looks like I will have to pass on Bobby at the Showcase (two years straight I've missed him -- damn -- though I did see him with the SF Jazz Collective, and they were definitely on that evening).

But I think Sal and I are going to make it to the Green Mill on Sat. the 14th to see Vijay Iyer Quartet with Rudresh Mahanthappa. Should be a great show. According to the on-line Reader, Friday's show is 9 PM and Sat. is 8 PM. I'll correct this if different. Let us know if you think you'll be dropping in.

I'd love to make it but can't get into town until Sunday!

[gslade]

I wish this band would make it to the northwest

[ejp626]

Sal:

Give me a call if you can still make it on Sat. Should be a great show.

Eric

[ejp626]

So I did make it up to the Green Mill to catch Iyer and Mahanthappa. It was great. I was especially happy I got there in time to get a seat in front, rather than sitting at the bar, which is what I usually do. There wasn't nearly as much smoke as usual. Early on, there were still seats, but by mid-set, the place was as full as, say, the Greg Osby sets I have seen there. I wonder if people were thrown by the reasonably early start time (8).

A few general comments now. They played songs from the upcoming release, and I'll be getting that late next week, so I'll be better able to judge the difference between live and studio. But this is dense, intricate music and being able to play it live at all is astounding. There is only one song (Cardio) that is so tricky (tempo changes and sudden shifts from the piano) that it calls attention to itself and doesn't function as well as music. A few people here and there make some comparisons to the classic Coltrane quartet, and there is something to that, though really both Iyer and Mahanthappa are making "sheets of sound" and the music is more tightly composed (Mahanthappa at least is playing off sheet music for several songs).

One thing that I felt is that there is more repetition of the composed phases (maybe cyclical music sounds less derogatory) taking it to higher levels and a kind of climax. In a Song for Midwood, you can definitely hear quotes from Indian music in the cycles.

The drummer is good. He is really really young though, maybe not even 20. And I liked the fact the bass player cut through the mix with simple patterns and chords. He did get to walk a bit, but I'll have to see which song that was on.

I don't have my notes in front of me, but they played Revolutions, Inertia, Song for Midwood, Infogee's Cakewalk and Cardio. They played one or two songs after that, which were not announced. The final piece was really great, so I will see if I can recognize it from the CD when it shows up.

So if you can catch these guys, I would recommend it. Of course, I don't think they will change music as much as Coltrane and Tyner, but even getting a small hint of what it would have been like listening to them starting out is amazing. Again, these guys do have their own thing, but the energy and sheer amount of music coming out of them is comparable to the Coltrane Quartet. It was a good set to be my last set, since I don't anticipate going back to the Green Mill for a long, long time.

By the way, Vijay seems like a really nice guy. I brought him the liner from In What Language to sign, and he was surprised to see I had brought that in (don't think it was a huge seller or anything). So we talked for a minute or two about the album.

[montg]

Thanks for the review! I happened across a couple of free MP3s from the new CD on Savoy and was really moved by the music. Iyer mp3s

This wasn't even on my radar before hearing those cuts--like ejp says, the music is intricate, but not at the expense of power. With the vamps and Indian influence, the Coltrane connection is there, but Iyer didn't sound much like Tyner to me. Actually, the combination of power and intricacy reminded me more of Jason Moran. Anway, I'll be picking up the new CD.

[kh1958]

I picked up his new CD yesterday, and on first listen, it sounds like another really good one.

[jlhoots]

Is the drummer Roy Haynes' grandson?

I believe he's on the new Iyer Savoy CD.