Vijayocity

The main problem with the absence of a one-stop jazz hub is that it's very hard for new listeners (and even seasoned listeners) to keep track of developments in the music, be they essential albums, great shows, or emerging artists. You can be a casual indie rock fan who rarely reads the blogs and even more rarely goes to shows and still feel more or less on top of the music. Heck, I never read indie rock blogs and have never been to an indie rock show and yet I consider myself more or less up on the music. If you're 24 and live in Brooklyn, it's just very hard to miss. The music spills over into conversations, commercials, mainstream publications, and even jazz blogs.

Over the last month, jazz pianist Vijay Iyer has reached a critical mass of pre-album-release media saturation. It's gotten to a point where I feel that, as a self-identified jazz fan, I need to give his new album, Historicity, a serious listen and, hopefully, catch him live when he's town. Iyer isn't new to me—I've known about him for six or seven years and own one of his earlier albums, In What Language?—but, despite intentions to really check him out, I've never gotten past a cursory listen. Now, with a collective shout of Vijay-mania in my ear, I have no choice. Peer pressure can have a positive side.

Here's a brief and incomplete summary of Iyer's recent media omnipotence:

• NPR's Patrick Jarenwattananon summed up Vijay-mania two weeks ago, after Iyer was cited third most in NPR's poll on the best jazz for non-jazz listeners.
• The Times' Ben Ratliff said of Historicity, "Presto! Here is the great new jazz piano trio." (Includes streaming audio of the trio's cover of M.I.A.'s "Galang")
• Vijay chatted with Joshua Jackson on the incomparable WBGO radio show, "The Checkout," and stayed to play "Historicity," Julius Hemphill's "Dogon A.D.," Andrew Hill's "Smoke Stack," and Ronnie Foster's "Mystic Brew," all off the new album.
• Vijay guest blogged at Destination:Out! and posted two live tracks, "Cardio" and "Questions of Agency", from his trio's spring 2009 European tour.
• Vijay wrote an essay for the Guardian about how the Fibonacci series and the "golden ratio" inform the rhythmic structure of his compositions. This may sound intimidating (and, yeah, I can't imagine this piece will win over anyone who thought jazz too sophisticated and esoteric), but Iyer plays to the audience with a "Billie Jean" reference that makes a lot of sense. Who knew Michael Jackson's music was the audible manifestation of 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,89,144?

NPR had the entirety of Historicity streaming on its website, but when the album came out, the streaming tracks came down. I bought the album yesterday and have been pretty blown away, but if you're not up for dropping $9.90 and aren't skilled in the dark arts of the internets, you can still hear seven different Iyer tracks just off the links I've pasted above. For those new to Iyer's work, I'd recommend "Cardio" on Iyer's Destination:Out! post.