Comments on: In Conversation With Vijay Iyer, Part II

By: ankur

ankur — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 05:19:04 +0000

Fantastic interview Sugi, Vijay’s an interesting and talented cat. You earned him at least one more fan.

By: bipasha

bipasha — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 22:58:06 +0000

He’s coming to Montreal to perform at the Jazz fest! I’ll be sure to check him out…

By: narayan

narayan — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 19:42:19 +0000

rora-hasso – funny you should mention CDs. I stopped collecting when everything was going CD; a generational thing perhaps.

By: boston_mahesh

boston_mahesh — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 03:32:52 +0000

This guy is amazing. his interpretation of Galang was brilliant, and so different at the same time. I loved his dissonance and chromatic scales.

By: rora-hasso

rora-hasso — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 23:58:46 +0000

@5 Â· narayan on June 21, 2010 4:16 PM

don't count me in the non jazz loving desi crowd;I'm a madrasi tamil living in France for the past three decades and yes I have a big collection of CD's.As you say most of the musicians are black.I am happy that one Indian has taken to the jazz music; moreover my favorite kind is trio which makes me feel lÃ©ger... Wishing VI all the success May he serve a role model for those desis interested in Jazz or western classical music in the US

By: narayan

narayan — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:16:55 +0000

In the many years I listened almost exclusively to Jazz (60-85) I never once came across another Indian who was similarly inclined or obsessed. The paucity of responses to these two posts strengthens my hunch that there is no emotional connection whatsoever between the ‘serious’ strands of the music and India.
I use the term Jazz cautiously not just because of its diluted connotation of the past two decades but because I have come to think of it as Great Black Music, a term in vogue with the cognoscenti in the 70s. Blackness, and its importance to the half century marked by significant experimentation, became to me the essence of all the innovators and the styles that have descended from them. Without it the music was just jazz (in lower case). Along the way, even as a passive listener, I occasionally experienced gratuitous ostracism from Indians (don’t you have any good music?), Whites (you’re Indian, how would you know?) and Blacks (you’re from where?). Now comes a Vijay Iyer who is to be admired for his choices and perseverance. It is a difficult path he has chosen which calls for a subtle abnegation of his ethnic roots – in my perverse opinion. May he find the best trajectory.

By: lifelong

lifelong — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:50:26 +0000

VVG, thank you for this mutinous interview.

By: alt

alt — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 05:28:26 +0000

Thanks for the interview.

By: Preston

Preston — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 15:58:29 +0000

Vijay is one of the most articulate musicians I’ve ever read (he plays a mean piano, too).

By: Ocotillo

Ocotillo — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 20:11:20 +0000

Thanks for the great interview! I’m not much of a jazz listener, but the clips I’ve heard here have intrigued me, as have Vijay Iyer’s thoughtful responses, so I might have to check his work out.