29.04.2009
The American pianist VIJAY IYER becomes ACT exclusive artist

"In my opinion Vijay Iyer is the most interesting and important artist of American jazz since Brad Mehldau. I’m very proud that he has chosen ACT as home for his upcoming worldwide releases."
Siggi Loch, head of ACT Records

On August 28, 2009 Vijay Iyer’s first album for ACT will be released: HISTORICITY (ACT 9489-2)

VIJAY IYER was born in 1971 in the US as a son of immigrants from India. He studied Mathematics and Physics in Yale and Berkeley before discovering his musical vocation and is one of today's most celebrated and innovative young American jazz artists.

Iyer has released twelve highly acclaimed recordings, including most recently Tragicomic (2008) with his trio and quartet, „Door” (2008) with the trio Fieldwork, „Still Life with Commentator“ with Mike Ladd, and “Raw Materials” (2007) in duo with saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa. He is the winner of the Downbeat International Critics Polls for Rising Star Jazz Artist and Rising Star Composer for both 2006 and 2007 and is featured on the cover of the September 2008 issue of the UK publication Jazzwise as well as on the cover of the U.S. magazine Downbeat for its July 2008 issue.

This self-taught pianist and composer forms a surprising synthesis of widely disparate influences: the entire history of jazz piano; the rhythmic structural precision of M-Base (he toured and recorded with Steve Coleman from 1995-2001); the intense experimentalism of the avantgarde (he is touring and recording with Roscoe Mitchell since 2001); the rugged textures of cutting-edge underground electronica/hip-hop/rock (he collaborates closely with Mike Ladd, Burnt Sugar and DJ Spooky); the rigors of modern Western composition (he studied western classical violin for fifteen years); and most importantly, the rhythmic intricacy and melodic nuance of the music of India.

Vijay Iyer about HISTORICITY
“’Historicity’ as a condition of being placed in the stream of history. Without a doubt, it's the past that's setting us in motion. With eons of recorded music ringing in our ears, and several years of intensive collaboration behind us, we take on pre-existing works by Andrew Hill, Julius Hemphill, Ronnie Foster, Stevie Wonder, Bernstein & Sondheim, and M.I.A.. You could see our covers as tributes, but we've also tried to augment each song with a fragment of ourselves. Each cover becomes a conversation between the original work and something else entirely; the best word for it is versioning. I also borrow from my own past: earlier prototypes of "Trident" and "Sentiment" appeared on my first few albums, over a decade ago. And all of our music draws influence from the musical traditions of South Asia, Africa, and their diasporas (the Brown and Black Atlantic); perceptual illusions, mathematical equalities, and physical resonances; and everyday life in transcultural New York City.”

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