Rarely ever going far outside, Vijay Iyer continues to pursue his piano trio jazz revolution from within with a persistent creative spark and an inspired rhythm section.

Ivo Perelman tends to draw out all the interesting little characteristics from his musical partners, even first time musical collaborators like Vijay Iyer for their totally improvised encounter ‘Tale Nine.’

It was easy to find jazz records that deserved a year-end salute; maybe ‘too’ easy. The heavy lifting came from figuring out which stood above the rest for this Best of 2017 list.

Rez Abbasi and his potent Invocation band have demonstrated with ‘Unfiltered Universe’ that creativity and originality is more than just ideas and knowledge, it’s about vision.

By not limiting himself within a narrow concept and exploiting a multiple of possibilities presented by the larger sextet, Vijay Iyer’s variety of tactics benefit ‘Far From Over,’ making this an insightful window into his wide-ranging capabilities.

Iyer and Smith’s ‘a cosmic rhythm with each stroke’ is an encounter of two distinct voices from two distinct generations but of a single, spiritual mind.

As a bandleader and award-winning composer, saxophonist Pete Robbins never stands still, crafting each album using some different dimension. You May Also Like: Vijay Iyer – ‘Compassion’ (2024) Vijay Iyer Sextet – Far From Over (2017) Tyshawn Sorey Trio – ‘Continuing’ (2023)

In the jazz world, I’ve found that the long-established artists, especially the ones who play in the well-established styles, get the bulk of the buzz.