Album Review: Vijay Iyer's 'Historicity'

Searching for new sounds by way of crushing dissonances and dexterous rhythmic underpinnings, pianist Vijay Iyer has become a progressive jazz luminary. On his trio album Historicity, Iyer’s music maintains its otherworldliness, but is familiar and relatable in a way it hasn’t been previously.

Listening to Historicity, in a way similar to virtually all of Iyer’s other recordings, involves a substantial amount of disorientation. It’s rarely clear, even to the learned jazz musician, what exactly he is doing. On this album, the disorientation, which can be thought of as a seasoning with an appeal of its own, is dished out infused with comfortable flavors.

It’s true that part of this successful balance is due to Iyer’s re-imagining of songs with a degree of familiarity, including M.I.A.’s “Galang,” Stevie Wonder’s “Big Brother,” and Leonard Bernstein’s “Somewhere.” But more importantly, Iyer stabilizes his bewildering passages with anchors of relative simplicity. One example of this is on Andrew Hill’s tune “Smokestack,” on which Iyer’s swirling solo resolves in a straightforward coda.

Throughout the recording are similarly balanced pairings. In Ronnie Foster’s “Mystic Brew,” rhythmic crags are softened with assonant harmonies. In “Galang” moments of sinuous intensity are pulled taught across the solid reggaeton-like foundation.

Historicity, while compositionally tempered, is uncompromising in terms of rigor, and therefore a must-have for seekers of forward-thinking jazz. Also, in a period during which innovative music is thriving, but when debates rage about “accessibility” and the survival of jazz, Historicity provides a model for the type of music that will continue to challenge while simultaneously inviting a fresh audience.

Release Date

October 13th, 2009 on ACT Music

Personnel:

• Vijay Iyer – Piano
• Stephan Crumb – Bass
• Marcus Gilmore – Drums

Track List:

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