Vijay Iyer | |
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![]() Iyer performing in 2023 | |
Background information | |
Born | Albany, New York, United States | October 26, 1971
Genres | Jazz, classical |
Occupation(s) | Composer, musician |
Instrument | Piano |
Labels | Asian Improv, Pi, Artists House, Savoy, ACT, ECM |
Website | www |
Vijay Iyer ([ˌvɪdʒeɪ ˈaɪjər];[1] born October 26, 1971) is an American composer, pianist, bandleader, producer and writer based in New York City. The New York Times has called him a "social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, historical thinker and multicultural gateway".[2] Iyer received a 2013 MacArthur Fellowship,[3] a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, a United States Artists Fellowship,[4] a Grammy nomination,[5] and the Alpert Award in the Arts.[6] He was voted Jazz Artist of the Year in the DownBeat magazine international critics' polls in 2012,[7] 2015,[8] 2016,[9] and 2018.[10] In 2014, he received a lifetime appointment as the Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts at Harvard University, where he was jointly appointed in the Department of Music[11] and the Department of African and African American Studies.[12]