美国国家公共电台 NPR Vijay Iyer On Jazz's 'History Of Defiance,' His Influences And Playing In A Sextet

 

(SOUNDBITE OF VIJAY IYER SEXTET'S "FAR FROM OVER")

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is the music of Vijay Iyer. He's an acclaimed¹ jazz pianist, MacArthur winner and professor of music at Harvard. This new album, recorded with a six-person band, is called "Far From Over." Vijay Iyer joins us now from Banff, Alberta. Thanks so much for being with us.

VIJAY IYER: Sure. Thanks for having me.

SIMON: How did this group of musicians begin to come into your life, and how did you begin to play together?

IYER: Well, I moved to New York about 19 years ago. And some of them I met not long after that. It's really come into its own. It has its own identity and its own way of working together, you know, that builds a certain kind of trust, a certain bond that I think is expressed in the music. And it sort of supports it so that we're able to sometimes go out on a limb (laughter) and do something a little bit wild.

(SOUNDBITE OF VIJAY IYER SEXTET'S "FAR FROM OVER")

SIMON: Going out on a limb - isn't that what jazz is all about?

IYER: I don't know. I mean, I think that word gets used and overused and misused² and kind of caricatured. I think of it as the history of a people, you know, and the history of ideas, a history of defiance³, a history of unity⁴, a history of joy and transcendence and also a history of responding to conditions of oppression and terror. So I always think about my relationship to that history as a South Asian-American. And I try to honor that history while still being myself.

SIMON: Well, let's listen to another track, if we can. And this one is "Good On The Ground."

(SOUNDBITE OF VIJAY IYER SEXTET'S "GOOD ON THE GROUND")

SIMON: Is it OK if I hear some South Indian folk rhythms in there?

IYER: (Laughter) It's OK. That's perfectly⁵ OK. I mean, my parents are from India. And the rhythmic⁶ and melodic⁷ ideas from Carnatic music and from Indian folk music had an influence on me. It's sort of been in the background my whole life. And then when I was in my 20s, I started trying to put it more in the foreground. And I guess with this band, I wanted to kind of work with different dance rhythms and dance impulses. And so that was one that you kind of associate with the courtyard of a temple in South India or something like that. It's a very simple rhythm that excites and electrifies⁸.

(SOUNDBITE OF VIJAY IYER SEXTET'S "GOOD ON THE GROUND")

SIMON: What kind of music did you grow up listening to and enjoying in your family?

IYER: Well, I actually grew up listening mostly to the radio - pop music and rock and soul music from the '70s and '80s when I grew up.

SIMON: But jazz is where you felt the greatest connection, I guess.

IYER: Well, I sort of regard that word as a pretty open one in the sense that if you look at the history of the music, it's been a category that keeps shifting.

SIMON: Yeah.

IYER: I think the main idea is that you tell your story, you know? And I've studied Duke Ellington's music, Thelonious Monk's music, Bud Powell. But I also know that the reason we're on this planet (laughter) as individuals is to express and reflect the moment we're in.

SIMON: I wonder if you think it has something particularly to say to these times.

IYER: Well I think that there's a history of defiance in it. You know, when I talk to my students about it, I kind of frame it as a history of community organizing because it was about people coming together in pretty dire⁹ circumstances and sort of against all odds¹⁰, creating beauty and changing the world (laughter). You know, that's really what it was.

SIMON: Yeah.

IYER: So when understood in that way, there's a lot to learn about what we must do today.

SIMON: Vijay Iyer - his album is "Far From Over" - that's the title. Thanks so much for being with us.

IYER: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF VIJAY IYER SEXTET'S "FOR AMIRI BARAKA")

1 acclaimed   

adj.受人欢迎的

参考例句：

• They acclaimed him as the best writer of the year. 他们称赞他为当年的最佳作者。
• Confuscius is acclaimed as a great thinker. 孔子被赞誉为伟大的思想家。

2 misused   

v.使用…不当( misuse的过去式和过去分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用

参考例句：

• He misused his dog shamefully. 他可耻地虐待自己的狗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had grossly misused his power. 他严重滥用职权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

4 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

5 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

6 rhythmic   

adj.有节奏的，有韵律的

参考例句：

• Her breathing became more rhythmic.她的呼吸变得更有规律了。
• Good breathing is slow,rhythmic and deep.健康的呼吸方式缓慢深沉而有节奏。

7 melodic   

adj.有旋律的，调子美妙的

参考例句：

• His voice had a rich melodic quality.他的音色浑厚而优美。
• He spoke with a soft husky voice in a melodic accent.他微微沙哑的声音带着一种悠扬的口音。

8 electrifies   

v.使电气化( electrify的第三人称单数 )；使兴奋

参考例句：

• Chain Lightning electrifies the enemies for a while. 闪电链electrifies敌人一会儿。 来自互联网
• The unity of the brass trademark and patent leather definitely electrifies your desire for the Collection! 独特的专利皮革编网设计由手工在带有花押字的织物上完成，绝对是渴望之选。 来自互联网

9 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

10 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？