Vijay Iyer Trio

“One of the truly great jazz musicians of our time,” (Stereophile), pianist Vijay Iyer brings his telepathic trio back to the Miner stage with music from his latest ECM album, Compassion.

By the time Iyer released his first trio album with the standard bass and drums configuration he’d established himself as one of the most accomplished and conceptually probing pianists of his generation. His lavishly praised 2009 album Historicity  introduced his powerhouse working band with bassist Stephan Crump and drummer Marcus Gilmore, which served as Iyer’s primary trio vehicle for the next decade (with Iyer’s fellow MacArthur Fellow Tyshawn Sorey sometimes taking over the drum chair).

In 2021, he introduced a new trio with Sorey and bassist Linda May Han Oh that seemed to capture the disquieting zeitgeist with another critically hailed album, Uneasy (ECM). While credited to all three musicians and marked by breathtaking interplay, the trio’s work on Compassion reflects Iyer’s vision as the group navigates the intricate rhythmic cycles, rollercoaster momentum shifts, and dense harmonies that make the pianist’s music so enthralling. Featuring revelatory takes on the work of Stevie Wonder and Roscoe Mitchell, at center are Iyer’s singular compositions, though Sorey, a celebrated composer in and outside of jazz, and Oh, a bassist with astounding tonal control, are full partners in bringing the music to raw and glorious life.