I love jazz generally and knew that Vijay Iyer has a devoted following, so I did not hesitate to see one of his four Regattabar shows last weekend even though I was only slightly familiar with his music.  Saying that I was in awe of the performance is an understatement – he and the rest of his trio are incredible!

Vijay Iyer

The show I attended was the last of the four; if they were tired, it did not seep into their performance which appeared flawless!

While waiting for the doors to open, I eavesdropped on a conversation a fan had with Stephan Crump, Vijay’s bass player. When asked what was on the set list, Stephan said that Vijay does not work with a set list; he starts a number and Stephan and Marcus Gilmore, the drummer, follow his lead. I think knowing that made the show even more fantastic for me.

Vijay Iyer

Stephan Crump

Marcus Gilmore

What amazed me most about the way they perform is that they start at the same place and appear to go off on their own tangents, only to return to the same place at the end of the number. There was not a lot of eye contact among them during the set; in fact, they seemed to have their eyes closed for most of the show.

Vijay Iyer

This show was all about the music, with almost no talking. The first number – which may have been multiple tunes performed as a medley – felt like it lasted about 45 minutes. This is intense music; the audience was rapt and hardly made a sound.

Vijay Iyer

Stephan Crump

Marcus Gilmore

I was fascinated with Stephan; he was doing what I would describe as scat singing but in a whisper. He did not have a microphone in front of him so only those of us who were close to him could hear him.

Stephan Crump scat singing

Now that I know what Vijay’s music is all about, I cannot wait to see him again! He is a music professor at Harvard, which I hope means he performs often in the Boston area. His music is definitely best appreciated live (although I honestly believe that most music is better live than recorded). Go see one of his shows – if you enjoy improvisational jazz, or jazz in general, I doubt you will be disappointed.

Ticket courtesy of Regattabar; all opinions are my own.