Vijay Iyer Trio at Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club

On Friday evening, I witnessed jazz greatness at Jimmy’s Jazz and Blues Club in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

It came by the way of a jazz trio from New York City led by composer and pianist Vijay Iyer. A unique trio of contemporary, modern jazz sounds arranged and performed with energy, drive, and enormous, beautiful sound. Bass player Linda May Han Oh and drummer Tyshawn Sorey joined Iyer on stage for two sets of outstanding, unforgettable sounds that received many, many well-deserved applause breaks throughout both sets of music. All three musicians are true leaders in modern jazz sounds with so much talent, but for me the percussion made the difference. Hearing the loud snare followed by a splash of downbeat, simple rhythms on the drums kept me on the edge of my seat and others jumping out of theirs. Sorey was tuned in all night long, both accompanying and leading the way, and he tended to roll the drums in and out of Han Oh’s bass solos and Iyer’s magnificent solitary moments on the piano.

Vijay Iyer’s latest release is called, ‘Uneasy’ (ECM) and in his words the album is all about “the before-times.” It features ten new tracks with two non-originals — “Drummer’s Song,” by Geri Allen and “Night and Day,” a standard originally written by Cole Porter.

The audience was right in tune, the sound was incredible, the lighting was perfect, and the ambience was truly second to none. After the first set, I was lucky enough to meet Mr. Iyer and thank him for such a remarkable night of live music. They’re headed back to New York City to record a new album and let’s hope that the next tour stops in at Jimmy’s once again. I’ll be waiting.

— Jason Boucher

Vijay Iyer

Linda May Han Oh

Tyshawn Sorey

Uneasy is available on LP, CD, and digital release.