Conceptual jazz that's furious even when it's inarticulate
Vijay Iyer & Mike Ladd's Still Life With Commentator
The latest collaboration between pianist Vijay Iyer and performance artist Mike Ladd, following 1994's In What Language?,suffers from a problem seemingly endemic to contemporary leftist critique. The project's theme seems to be the ongoing erosion of the already fine line between information and propaganda, given the proliferation of blogs and partisan mass media. But Ladd's verbal opacity works against him—you're never quite sure what he's getting at, just that he's pissed off.
Details
Still Life with Commentator
Savoy Jazz
Related Content
More About
Iyer's overloaded piano and synthesizer scores, a few crafted in tandem with guitarist Liberty Ellman or vocalists Pamela Z and Pálína Jónsdóttir, work best when one detail rises above the others. It's usually Iyer's interlocking rhythms, but here and there it's Pamela Z's chilling bel canto on "Been There Done That" and "Cleaning Up the Mess," or percussionist Guillermo E. Brown's soulfully nerdy recitation and singing on shout-outs to Jon Stewart and Dan Rather. As for Ladd, I pretty much gave up on him as a thinker after hearing him say, during a Q&A following a performance of In All Languages a few years ago, that cops were just custodians for the rich. No matter—his delivery is dexterous enough to hold your ear even when his logic is solipsistic or his point unclear. You couldn't call what he does rap, exactly. But unlike Wynton Marsalis, he knows from flow.
Now Trending
-
Voice Places
Find everything you're looking for in your city
-
Happy Hour App
Find the best happy hour deals in your city
-
Daily Deals
Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%
-
Best Of...
Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city
- Profile
- Newsletters
- Mobile
- Logout
-
Publishing:
ONOFF
