''Architextures'' is the second studio album by American jazz pianist

Vijay Iyer Vijay Iyer (born October 26, 1971) is an American composer, pianist, bandleader, producer and writer based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' has called him a "social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, histori ...

recorded with eight musicians. The album was released on via Asian Improv Records label. The tracks 3, 4, 7, 9 were recorded by a trio of Iyer, Brock, and Hargreaves. The tracks 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11 were recorded by an octet. The tracks 1 and 12 were recorded solo by Iyer.

Reception

Robert Spencer of

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

stated: "Vijay Iyer is 'one of the most fascinating jazz pianists around,' says Berkeley's East Bay Express, and I couldn't have said it better myself. It is getting ever more difficult to hear someone with something really new to say, but ''Architextures'' should establish Vijay Iyer as a pianist to be reckoned with... ''Architextures'' amply rewards repeated listens and has made me, for one, make a note to look out for the man's next disc and even greater things to come." David R. Adler of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

noted: "As on his debut, 1995's ''Memorophilia'', Iyer is after a sound that combines modern jazz with elements inspired by the South Asian diaspora of which he is a part. The clearest references to non-Western music appear on 'Three Peas,' which features Mahanthappa and the two bassists. Otherwise, Iyer's multifarious influences are harder to separate or even detect, as they're deeply interwoven within the dense stew of rhythms and improvisational dialogues undertaken by both ensembles. There's an opaque quality and a relentless intensity in much of Iyer's music. Pianistically, he has something in common with non-traditional players such as

Jason Moran Jason Moran may refer to: * Jason Moran (criminal) (1967–2003), Australian mobster * Jason Moran (musician) Jason Moran (born January 21, 1975) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator involved in multimedia art and theatrical inst ...

and

Ethan Iverson Ethan Iverson (born February 11, 1973) is a pianist, composer, and critic best known for his work in the avant-garde jazz trio The Bad Plus with bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King. Biography Iverson was born in Menomonie, Wisconsin. ...

(neither of whom were prominent at the time of this recording). As a composer, Iyer draws upon figures such as Andrew Hill, Cecil Taylor, and Steve Coleman, but he is clearly arriving at his own highly complex style."

Track listing

Personnel

Band *Vijay Iyer – liner notes, mixing, piano, producer * Jeff Brock – bass *Eric Crystal – sax (soprano), sax (tenor) * Liberty Ellman – guitar * Brad Hargreaves – drums *

Aaron Stewart Aaron Stewart (5 October 1845 – 30 November 1910) was a British trade unionist. Life Born in Coleorton in Leicestershire, Stewart's father died when he was two years old, and he began working underground in a coal mine, illegally, at th ...

– sax (tenor) *

Rudresh Mahanthappa Rudresh Mahanthappa (born May 4, 1971) is a New York-based jazz alto saxophonist and composer. Biography Mahanthappa is the son of Indian emigrants to the U.S. He was born in Trieste, Italy as a result of his father's job in academia, but spent ...

– sax (alto) *Kevin Ellington Mingus – bass Production *Matt Levine – mastering *Cookie Marenco – engineer, mixing

References

{{Authority control 1998 albums Vijay Iyer albums ECM Records albums Albums produced by Manfred Eicher Jazz albums by American artists