It’s not often that artists re-interpret their own material (excepting Charles Mingus and Duke Ellington), so it’s a pleasant surprise to hear lost sessions of when pianist/keyboardist Vijay Iyer teamed up with Mike Ladd on synthesizers and programming to give instrumental reads of their 2003 album In What Language? That original album told the intriguing tale of certain races being targeted at airports by INS. While this album (which includes some of the original band members such as Liberty Ellman/g and Rudresh Mahnthappa/as, Trevor Holder/dr, Stephan Crump/b, Dana Leong/cel-tb and a few additions) doesn’t speak directly to the issue, the music is definitely poignant and speaks volumes.
Ambrose Akinmusire brings his trumpet into the scene to add an extra dimension, fluttering over Iyer’s ectomorphic ivories on “DeGaulle” whle giving ambient fragrances to Ladd on “Asylum”. There are lots of synthy pulses, hip hop bops and soul grooves, as on “Terminal City” “The Color Of My Circumference II” and “In What Language” that create a contrast to the yearning cello and piano of “Plastic Bag” and the Middle Eastern moods of “Iraqi Businessman” with impressive work by Crump and Ellman.
Iyer’s career has been an intriguing collection of ideas moving forward. Here, he shows that with Ladd he can do that while also looking back as well.Not a bad way to cope in an age of COVID 19