| Still Life with Commentator | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 6, 2007 | |||
| Recorded |
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| Studio |
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| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 65:35 | |||
| Label | Savoy Jazz | |||
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| Vijay Iyer chronology | ||||
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Still Life with Commentator is a collaborative studio album by American jazz pianist Vijay Iyer and American hip hop musician Mike Ladd. It was released on Savoy Jazz in 2007.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| All About Jazz |  [1] |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Tom Hull | A– [3] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [4] |
Lyn Horton of All About Jazz gave the album 5 out of 5 stars, commenting that "This work illuminates the perils within contemporary global society from the standpoint of the media and information blitz." [1] Sean Westergaard of AllMusic gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars, describing it as "a dense, thought-provoking piece that takes some effort to internalize." [2] Mike Shanley of JazzTimes wrote, "This disc exists in a musical Bermuda Triangle that conjoins jazz, electronica and that mutant, undefined style of pop music created by the likes of Björk." [5]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Infogee Rhapsody" | 4:17 |
| 2. | "Edward L. Bernays Flies the Hindenburg" | 2:33 |
| 3. | "Been There Done That" | 7:59 |
| 4. | "Cleaning Up the Mess" | 5:13 |
| 5. | "Lake Aaron (Commentator Landscape #1: Aaron Brown)" | 3:02 |
| 6. | "Jon Stewart on Crossfire" | 3:22 |
| 7. | "Shep's Brook (Commentator Landscape #2: Shepard Smith)" | 3:04 |
| 8. | "Riding on the Intro Graphics to Cable News" | 4:09 |
| 9. | "Man Channel" | 4:11 |
| 10. | "Fox 'n' Friends" | 0:30 |
| 11. | "Holocaust Blog" | 5:33 |
| 12. | "Cybernut Bucolia" | 3:59 |
| 13. | "Mount Rather (Commentator Landscape #3: Dan Rather)" | 4:28 |
| 14. | "Latex Thumbs Up" | 3:24 |
| 15. | "Redemption Chant" | 2:06 |
| 16. | "Blog Mom's Anthem" | 2:52 |
| 17. | "The Last Atrocity" | 4:51 |
Credits adapted from liner notes.
Mike Ladd is an American hip hop musician from Boston, Massachusetts. He is based in Paris, France. The Guardian described him as "the king of the hip-hop concept."
Vijay Iyer 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". Iyer received a 2013 MacArthur Fellowship, a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, a United States Artists Fellowship, a Grammy nomination, and the Alpert Award in the Arts. He was voted Jazz Artist of the Year in the DownBeat magazine international critics' polls in 2012, 2015, 2016, and 2018. 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 and the Department of African and African American Studies.
Negrophilia: The Album is a studio album by American hip hop musician Mike Ladd. It was released on Thirsty Ear in 2005.
Mutations is a studio album by American jazz pianist Vijay Iyer recorded in 2013 and released on the ECM label in 2014.
Accelerando is a studio album by Indian-American pianist Vijay Iyer recorded in 2011 and released on the ACT label in 2012.
Back Together Again is an album by American jazz saxophonist Fred Anderson with drummer Hamid Drake, which was recorded in 2003 and released on the Thrill Jockey label. They played together for more than 30 years, but this was their first duo recording. A bonus CD-ROM includes footage of three of the tunes along with interviews in which Anderson and Drake dissect the process of how the songs evolve and the different styles and approaches the two use.
Memorophilia is the debut studio album by American jazz pianist Vijay Iyer, which was recorded in 1995 and released on the Asian Improv label.
Tirtha is an album by pianist Vijay Iyer with Prasanna and Nitin Mitta recorded in 2008 and released on the ACT label in 2011.
Solo is a solo album by pianist Vijay Iyer recorded in 2010 and released on the ACT label.
Panoptic Modes is the third studio album led by American pianist Vijay Iyer originally released on the Red Giant label in 2001 and re-released on Pi Recordings in 2010.
A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke is an album by trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and pianist Vijay Iyer which was released in March 2016 on ECM Records.
Blood Sutra is an album by pianist Vijay Iyer recorded in 2003 and originally released on the Artists House label before being reissued on Pi Recordings in 2006.
Reimagining is an album by American jazz pianist Vijay Iyer, which was recorded in 2004, originally released on the Savoy label and reissued in Europe by Pi Recordings. The follow-up to Blood Sutra, the record features nine Iyer's compositions for his quartet with Rudresh Mahanthappa on alto sax, Stephan Crump on bass and Marcus Gilmore on drums, and a solo piano interpretation of John Lennon's "Imagine".
Your Life Flashes is the debut album by Fieldwork, a collective trio consisting of Aaron Stewart on tenor saxophone, Vijay Iyer on piano, and Elliot Humberto Kavee on drums, which was recorded in 2002 and released on Pi Recordings.
Simulated Progress is the second album by Fieldwork, a collective trio consisting of Vijay Iyer on piano, Elliot Humberto Kavee on drums, and Steve Lehman on alto and sopranino saxophone replacing former saxophonist Aaron Stewart, which was recorded in 2004 and released on Pi Recordings.
Door is the third album by Fieldwork, a collective trio consisting of Vijay Iyer on piano, Steve Lehman on alto saxophone and Tyshawn Sorey on drums replacing former drummer Elliot Humberto Kavee, which was recorded in 2007 and released on Pi Recordings.
Holding It Down: The Veterans' Dreams Project is a collaborative studio album by American jazz pianist Vijay Iyer and American hip hop musician Mike Ladd. It was released on Pi Recordings in 2013.
Architextures is the second studio album by American jazz pianist Vijay Iyer recorded with eight musicians. The album was released on October 13, 1998 via Asian Improv Records label. The tracks 3, 4, 7, 9 were recorded by a trio of Iyer, Brock, and Hargreaves. The tracks 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11 were recorded by an octet. The tracks 1 and 12 were recorded solo by Iyer.
In What Language? is a collaborative studio album by American jazz pianist Vijay Iyer and American hip hop musician Mike Ladd. It was released on Pi Recordings in 2003.
The Transitory Poems is a live album by pianists Vijay Iyer and Craig Taborn. The album was recorded in March 2018 and released a year later by ECM Records.
