Vijay Iyer: Piano, Fender Rhodes piano, electronics / Wadada Leo Smith: Trumpet
A cosmic rhythm with each stroke features pianist Vijay Iyer and the musician he has described as his - hero, friend and teacher, - trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith.
Vijay has previously played extensively with Wadada in Smiths Golden Quartet, but this album, produced by Manfred Eicher and recorded at New Yorks Avatar Studios last October, is the first documentation of their duo work.
The centerpiece of the album is the spellbinding title suite, dedicated to Nasreen Mohamedi (1937-1990), the innovative Indian artist whose improvisatory imagery evokes abstracted rhythms. Trumpet and piano interact here with creative sensitivity to tone, texture and space.
Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith will be premiering A cosmic rhythm with each stroke at New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art in March 2016 in the context of a major exhibition dedicated to Nasreen Mohamedis art and writings.
The Suite for Nasreen is framed on the album by Iyers composition Passage and Smiths concluding piece Marian Anderson, inspired by the great US contralto.
