Jazz jadoo at festival

Kudrat Singh

Rudresh Mahanthappa and Vijay Iyer are amongst the most well-renowned and sought after contemporary jazz musicians in the world today. Between them they have an overwhelming amount of fellowships, grants and accolades. They also happen to be Indian-American.

As they have toured with the Melbourne International Jazz Festival, here’s a chance to get to know the duo, even if you haven’t heard their subliminal music live.

Mahanthappa was born in Italy and moved to America in his younger years. He holds a Bachelors of Music Degree in jazz performance from Berklee College of Music and a Masters of Music degree in jazz composition from Chicago’s DePaul University. He is a Guggenheim fellow and Downbeat International Critics Poll Winner. Mahanthappa is one of the most innovative young musicians and composers in jazz today, and has been named Alto Saxophonist of the Year for 2010 and 2009 by the Jazz Journalist Association. More importantly, Mahanthappa has incorporated the culture of his Indian ancestry and has fused myriad influences to create a truly groundbreaking artistic vision. As a performer, he leads/co-leads seven groups and his most recent release Apex for Pi Recordings with alto saxophone great Bunky Green featuring Jason Moran and Jack DeJohnette was named one of the top jazz releases of 2010 by NPR, JazzTimes, Village Voice, Boston Globe, LA Times, Detroit Free Press, Denver Post Jazz and Philadelphia City Paper, among many others. His previous Pi release Kinsmen featuring carnatic saxophone legend Kadri Gopalnath (September 25, 2008) was named one of the Top Jazz CDs of 2008 by over 20 news sources including the New York Times, NPR, BBC, Boston Globe, slate.com, JazzTimes, and the Village Voice to name just a few. As a saxophonist, Mahanthappa has achieved international recognition performing regularly at jazz festivals and clubs worldwide. As a composer, he has received commission grants from the Rockefeller Foundation MAP Fund, American Composers Forum, Chamber Music America, and the New York State Council on the Arts to develop new work.

Mahanthappa holds a Bachelors of Music Degree in jazz performance from Berklee College of Music and a Masters of Music degree in jazz composition from Chicago’s DePaul University. Mahanthappa currently lives in New York where he is clearly regarded as an important and influential voice in the jazz world. Rudresh K. Mahanthappa is a Yamaha Artist and uses Vandoren reeds exclusively. He is also a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow.

Okay, so what does this all mean?

It means that Rudresh Mahanthappa is supremely talented, not only at performing but in leading and producing contemporary jazz music. And, as his illustrious career suggests, he is definitely one musician to see perform live. In his words, “The music that I make is a direct expression of my identity and my experience as an Indian-American. There is no way to compromise or impede that fact. Anyone coming from any sort of hybrid cultural background should acknowledge and embrace this inherently unique world perspective and take advantage of the richness therein.”

To sample a taste of his music, log on to http://rudreshm.com/about .

Similarly, Vijay Iyer, is a much noted and highly regarded individual in the contemporary jazz music scene. Iyer was born in the state of New York and grew up with a desire to play and perform music. In his early years he learnt how to play classical violin, later discovering the school jazz band and teaching himself to play the piano by ear. He graduated early from high school and went on to study the sciences at Ivy League universities. Alongside his practical studies, Iyer continued on with his music, finally choosing between the two. He admits that the choice was difficult for both himself and his family, though ultimately he had to follow “his calling”. Iyer is a perennial critical favourite, he won the Jazz Journalists Association’s Annual Jazz Award for 2010 Musician of the Year, and the 2004 Up & Coming Musician of the Year. He has repeatedly won multiple categories of the Downbeat Magazine International Critics’ Poll, including Rising Star Jazz Artist (2006, 2007), Rising Star Composer (2006, 2007), Rising Star Pianist (2009), Small Ensemble of the Year (2010), and Album of the Year (2010). He has appeared on the covers of five international music magazines: Downbeat (US), Jazzwise (UK), JazzThetik and JazzPodium (Germany), and Concerto (Austria). His many other honors include the prestigious 2003 CalArts Alpert Award in the Arts and a 2006 Fellowship in Music Composition from New York Foundation for the Arts. As a composer/performer, Iyer has received commissioning grants from the Rockefeller Foundation MAP Fund (2000, 2001, 2005, 2009), the New York State Council on the Arts (2002), Creative Capital Foundation (2002), Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust (2002, 2004), American Composers Forum (2005), Chamber Music America (2005), Meet The Composer (2006), and the Jazz Institute of Chicago (2008).

Iyer’s music is all-encompassing and even to the most untrained ears, it elicits emotions and responses which make you want to listen some more. It is easy to understand, after carefully listening to his music, why he has repeatedly been recognised and rewarded with nominations by his peers.

Find links to his music from his website: www.vijay-iyer.com.

The Melbourne Jazz Festival is on upto June 13 at various locations around the city, hosting a range of performers, as well as Iyer and Mahanthappa.