At 42, pianist/composer Vijay Iyer is at the top of his game, a Harvard professor, MacArthur fellowship recipient, perennial winner of various jazz polls and, most recently, an ECM recording artist. The centerpiece of his debut for that label, “Mutations,” is a genre-defying set of 10 pieces for piano, string quartet and electronics, interconnected through short motives and dotted with structures that allow for improvisation. At Wesleyan, Iyer leads a trio of bassist Stephen Crump and drummer Tyshawn Sorey (Wesleyan MA, class of ’11). This isn’t a new format for him; “Accerando,” Iyer’s latest trio release, with Crump and drummer Marcus Gilmore, sounds at times like “Mutations”‘s mirror compliment: a thematically rich set of originals and covers (including Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature”), one that’s both intellectual and warm, texturally diverse (listen, for example, to the clattering opening of Henry Threadgill’s “Little Pocket Size Demons,” or the contrapuntal churn of Iyer’s “Actions Speak”), executed with heart and white-knuckle precision. Benjamin Zucker ’15, a senior in the Music Department at Wesleyan, gives a pre-concert talk at 7:15 p.m.
VIJAY IYER TRIO performs on Saturday, Oct. 11 at Wesleyan University’s Crowell Concert Hall in Middletown. Showtime is 8 p.m. Tickets are $22-$25 ($6 for students). Information: wesleyan.edu.
