Vijay Iyer with Prasanna & Nitin Mitta: Tirtha

I don’t know squat about Vijay Iyer other than a couple of years ago I picked up one of his albums on emusic and found it delightful.  Not sure why I picked up this release earlier this year but I find this album equally fun.

Per the label’s website (ACT): “Tirtha” effortlessly blends Indian musical traditions with contemporary jazz in this innovative trio setting, creating a musical conversation that stretches across both, continents and centuries.

Well that just about says it.  This is a piano, guitar and tabla trio (with occasional Indian vocals).  That alone should grab you attention.  The piano is pretty straightforward jazz styling and the tabla is pretty straightforward Indian.  But the guitar pulls it all together.  Sometimes Indian, other times rock, and yet other times jazz.

I had kind of forgot about this album until today when I was browsing for something to exercise my new Grado headphones and this was the perfect fit.

PS – ACT has some of the best album art around!