Jazz's newest trio: Nitin Mitta, Vijay Iyer and Prasanna

Invited to create a concert celebrating 60 years of Indian independence, Indian-American pianist-composer Vijay Iyer responded in an unexpected manner. Instead of producing something for the sake of creation, Iyer joined forces with guitarist-composer Prasanna and tabla player Nitin Mitta to form Tirtha, a group that combines elements of traditional Indian music with those of jazz.



With a debut album of the same name to be released on March 8 (ACT), Tirtha features three accomplished musicians collaborating with each other to find Tirtha, a holy place where one can find a deeper state of being, in a musical context. Already accomplished musicians individually, the three members have not abandoned their own signature sounds and have combined their respective skills and aesthetics in order to maintain their authenticity.



Composed by Iyer and Prasanna, Tirtha communicates a spiritual journey free of labels. The music does not submit to any one type of music that each of its members creates, and does not fit neatly into just one genre. For the group, the collaboration celebrates India’s freedom by representing a more global sound as a result of independence.



Tracklist for Tirtha:

01. Duality

02. Tribal Wisdom

03. Tirtha

04. Abundance

05. Falsehood

06. Gauntlet

07. Polytheism

08. Remembrance

09. Entropy And Time



Tour Dates For Vijay Iyer:

01/13/11 – New York City, NY – Smalls Jazz Club

01/21/11 – New York City, NY – The Stone

02/01/11 – San Diego, CA – The Loft

02/02/11 – Davis, CA – Mondavi Center

02/05/11 – Davis, CA – Mondavi Center

02/08/11 – Seattle, WA – Jazz Alley

02/10/11 – Minneapolis, MN – University Of Minnesota

02/11/11 – Kalamazoo, MI – Dalton Center, Western Michigan University

02/12/11 – Ann Arbor, MI – Power Center – Performing Arts

02/18/11 – Cambridge, MA – Regattabar

02/24/11 – New York City, NY – Merkin Hall/Kaufman Center

03/10/11 – New York City, NY – Jazz Gallery

03/11/11 – Philadelphia, PA – Ars Nova Workshop

03/12/11 – Philadelphia, PA – Ars Nova Workshop

03/19/11 – Milwaukee, WI – Alverno College

04/01/11 – New York City, NY – Asia Society

04/02/11 – New York City, NY – Asia Society

04/28/11 – New York City, NY – Skirball Center For The Performing Arts

04/29/11 – Pittsburgh, PA – Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild

04/30/11 – Washington, D.C. – Sixth and I Historic Synagogue

05/01/11 – Warm Springs, VA – Garth Newel Music Center

05/13/11 – Princeton, NJ – McCarter Theatre