Search - Vijay Iyer :: Raw Materials With Rudresh Mahanthappa

Absolutely beguiling. . .

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 05/25/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

". . . much more so than one could have hoped for.



Sad to say, these things (piano/sax duos) often don't work. One thinks of, e.g., the famous Shorter/Hancock flop, 1 + 1; or, again, the Lovano/Rubalcaba disappointment, Flying Colors. The first is too cerebral, the second too meanderingly boppish.



Not here. It probably helps that these two guys have been playing together for more than a decade, and that when they were first introduced by Steve Coleman they immediately connected and began making remarkable music together. There are several previous discs documenting their telepathy (Black Water, Mother Tongue, Blood Sutra, and Reimagining), but this one situates them at the apex of modern jazz players.



I am frankly astounded at how both listenable and edgy this disc is. I expected the edginess, but not the listenability. This disc fairly reeks of hugely accessible, beautifully melodic modern jazz, often set within a kind of neo-East Indian aesthetic. Really, tune after tune exudes music of the absolute highest caliber.



The whole disc is remarkable, but highlights include "The Shape of Things," a balladic number that brilliantly sets the tone for the rest of the proceedings with its oriental modal feel, "All the Names," a kind of kaleidoscopic number with a very attractive Iyer vamp and some righteous Mahanthappa blowing, "Remembrance," a hugely evocative ballad, "Frontlash," with its angular grace, "Come Back," a plaintive call for reconciliation, one supposes, "Fly Higher," bursting with fresh and searching sensibilities, "Common Ground," a kind of instrumental plea for understanding across seemingly uncrossable abysses, "Rataplan," a frankly anthemic declamation, and "Hope," a yearning, plaintive ballad of grand and glorious feeling.



With Raw Materials, Iyer and Mahanthappa have accomplished the near impossible: they've made music of both intense feeling and cutting-edge brilliance, all within the confines of the rather severely limiting piano/sax duo.



Check it out to experience the heights of modern jazz."

Fabulous Collaboration...

Big Chief | Laguna Niguel, CA | 08/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been a fan of these gentlemen for some time, having loved Blood Sutra, Panoptic Modes, and Reimagining. But, I was rather worried that just piano and sax would be too bleak or awkward or disjointed, and would either offend my senses or be too obscure to relate to. Wrong! Very wrong. This is a very listenable work, and the two play together so well that the more ambitious sections still sound like a singlular statement. These guys use composition, harmony, tempo, and volume so well that the sound is almost orchestral at times. Sure, there are percussive assaults at times, and playfullness and humor too. But there is suptlety and interplay so nuanced and tight that it makes me smile, and there is fury, and there is repose. On this CD more than the others, I have really come to appreciate Rudresh as one of the finest sax players of our day; and Vijay has been on my list for a while.



As always, this type of music is not for everybody, but if you liked any of these musicians other works, treat yourself to this fine music."

Title something of a misnomer

Anthony Cooper | Louisville, KY United States | 12/10/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"With a name like "Raw Materials", and an instrumentation of piano and alto sax, you might think the CD has the raw materials for songs, but it isn't formed into a whole. That's not the case. Vijay Ayer on piano has a full style - he plays a lot of notes, and Rudresh Manthappa is no minimalist either. Unfortunately, what it does miss is a certain amount of blues and swing. "Fly Higher" might have the most swing, many other songs have a lot of straight eighth notes. Although Vijay and Rudresh give the songs their all, after a while the technicality gets off-putting. In addition, there isn't enough variation from song to song. So, the CD can get a tiring. "All The Names" and "Forgotten System" are good songs, but their jarring, technical style starts to run together.

"