Jazz Composer-Pianist Vijay Iyer Will Take the Stage in Scottsdale in May

Jazz composer-pianist Vijay Iyer will perform May 21 at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

Audiences are invited to experience an influencer in modern music, described by The New York Times as "social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, historical thinker and multicultural gateway." He has received a MacArthur Fellowship, a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, a United States Artist Fellowship, a Grammy nomination, the Alpert Award in the Arts and two German Echo awards, and he was voted Downbeat Magazine's Jazz Artist of the Year four times in the last decade.

Vijay Iyer's musical language is grounded in the rhythmic traditions of South Asia and West Africa, the African American creative music movement of the 1960s and '70s and the lineage of composer-pianists from Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk to Alice Coltrane and Geri Allen. He has been praised by Pitchfork as "one of the best in the world at what he does," by the Los Angeles Weekly as "a boundless and deeply important young star" and by Minnesota Public Radio as "an American treasure."

"Vijay Iyer is an artist we've been working on bringing to the center for a few years," said Diandra Adamczyk, senior programming coordinator at the center. "Now that the stars have aligned, it couldn't have been better timing with the release of his new album 'Uneasy.' This trio's performance is bound to impress lovers of jazz!"

For this May 21 show, joining Iyer will be Linda May Han Oh on bass and Jeremy Dutton on drums.

Oh is a bassist/composer who has performed and recorded with artists such as Joe Lovano, Dave Douglas, Steve Wilson and Geri Allen. Originally born in Malaysia and raised in Boorloo (Perth), Western Australia, Oh has received the 2010 Bell Award for Young Australian Artist of the Year and was the 2012 Downbeat Critics Poll "Rising Star" on bass. She was voted the 2018, 2019 and 2020 Bassist of the Year by the Jazz Journalist's Association, as well as 2019 Up-and-coming Artist of the Year.

Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Dutton is the continuation of a lineage of fantastic and surprising drummers from Houston. Having attended the nation's premier arts high school, HSPVA - a school that has housed an impressive amount of talent - Dutton is already making waves in the New York and global music scene. As a graduate of the New School University, Dutton is considered one of the most dynamic and exciting musicians today.

Valley audience members can join Iyer, Oh and Dutton for an evening of jazz at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380 E. 2nd St., Scottsdale, Arizona. Tickets start at $32. For information, visit ScottsdalePerformingArts.org/events or call 480-499-TKTS (8587).

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