The Angel City Jazz Festival concludes on Sunday October 14 in a stunning finale concert at 7:00pm at UCLA’s gorgeous Royce Hall with Grammy nominated and critically acclaimed pianist Vijay Iyer bringing his Trio, Quartet, and Sextet to the stage including his inspiration, top saxophonist and M-Base innovator Steve Coleman, presented in association with the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA and The Jazz Bakery. The Theme for the 2012 festival is “Artists & Legends,” with influential artists sharing the stage with their legendary mentors.
Vijay Iyer is a jazz pianist, composer, bandleader, producer, electronic musician, and writer, based in New York City. On this very special evening, he explores his vision in three contexts. His trio, featuring Stephan Crump on bass and Marcus Gilmore on drums, starts out the evening, pushing the classic combo configuration to entirely new territories.
The legendarily influential alto-saxophonist Steve Coleman joins the trio in the second set for a rare guest appearance. The sonic impact of Coleman’s playing cannot be understated. For more than four decades, he has pushed the concept of jazz in ways few others have. With more than 20 records as leader and as part of the visionary collective of composers known as M-Base, Coleman remains a vital part of the exploratory, improvised sound that is contemporary jazz. As Iyer puts it “To me, Steve is as important as Coltrane … What sits behind his influence is this global perspective on music and life. He has a point of view of what he does and why he does it ….”
Vijay’s new sextet, featuring the core trio plus Coleman, with the addition of Graham Haynes on trumpet and cornet, and Mark Shim on tenor sax, will close out the evening. This extraordinary evening with Vijay Iyer and his incomparable cohorts will be talked about for years to come.
Vijay Iyer performs at the Angel City Jazz Festival on October 14
Tickets for this incredible evening of music are available for $25 or $35 (premium seating) at https://vijayiyer.eventbrite.com/. Premium seating tickets can also be purchased as a bundle with the prior evening’s Bill Frisell event for $60 for both shows at http://angelcitybundle.eventbrite.com/.