Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily have detailed a new collaborative album. The trio will share Love in Exile on March 24 via Verve Records.
Recorded live in a New York City studio with minimal editing, Love in Exile features Iyer on pianos and electronics, Ismaily on bass and Moog synth and Aftab singing in Urdu.
The acclaimed vocalist, pianist and multi-instrumentalist/producer first debuted their trio with an NYC performance in 2018, going on to play half a dozen shows before recording Love in Exile. Iyer recalls that following debut, "We were mystified and almost silent and said: 'I don't know what just happened. But we should do that again.'"
The first piece to arrive is "To Remain/To Return," which you can hear below alongside a visualizer. To Iyer, the composition "reveals not just the melody but the birth of a song. I hear Shahzad and myself establishing these haunted cycles, then slowly and delicately transforming them, as Arooj glides across like a dark moon."
Aftab adds: "This piece holds, at its core, the delicately unfolding emotion of separation anxiety induced fury (see: love, self exile) between two people who are deeply connected. One is leaving and the other is asking them to stay. The former is saying 'I will leave but I will also return'; in better form for the both of us."
"We all provide the best we can," continues Ismaily. "In my case it's euclidean rhythms, crystals to hold the oceanic beauty of Vijay's keys and the silent raven of Arooj's voice. We grow to the company that we keep; I am both fortunate and grateful."
Aftab, Iyer and Ismaily have also shared a slate of North American tour dates, including summer jazz festival stops in Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver. Ahead of further performance announcements, you can find their present itinerary below.
Aftab's Grammy-winning solo album Vulture Prince was named among Exclaim!'s Best Albums of 2021.
Love in Exile:
1. To Remain/To Return
2. Haseen Thi
3. Shadow Forces
4. Sajni
5. Eyes of the Endless
6. Sharabi
Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily 2023 Tour Dates:
03/31 Knoxville, TN - Big Ears Music Festival
04/14 North Bethesda, MD - The Music Center at Strathmore
04/28 Burlington, VT - UVM Recital Hall
05/07 Krems an der Donau, Austria - Donaufestival, Minoritenkirche
05/09 Brussels, Belgium - Les Nuits Botanique Festival, Notre Dame Church
05/11 Luxembourg, Luxembourg - Neimënster
05/13 Berlin, Germany - XJazz! Festival, Emmauskirche
05/25 Hamburg, Germany - Elbphilharmonie
05/29 Zürich, Switzerland - Moods
05/30 Utrecht, Netherlands - Tivoli Vredenburg
06/02 London, England - The Barbican Centre
06/26 Vancouver, BC - Vancouver Jazz Festival
06/28 Ottawa, ON - Ottawa Jazz Festival
06/29 Montrral, QC - Montreal Jazz Festival
07/27 North Adams, MA - Bang on a Can's: Loud Weekend 2023 at Mass MoCA
07/29 Katonah, NY - Caramoor Center for the Arts
09/14 New York, NY - Venue TBA
09/19 San Diego, CA - Epstein Family Amphitheatre
09/20 Los Angeles, CA - Venue TBA
09/21 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
09/28 Tempe, AZ - Tempe Center for the Arts
09/29 Austin, TX - Venue TBA
09/30 Denver, CO - Venue TBA
10/04 Cleveland, OH Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art
10/05 Princeton, NJ - Venue TBA
10/07 Blacksburg, VA - Venue TBA
10/08 Boston, MA - Institute of Contemporary Art
10/10 Minneapolis, MN - The Cedar
10/11 Chicago, IL - Venue TBA
10/12 Iowa City, IA - Infinite Dream Festival
Recorded live in a New York City studio with minimal editing, Love in Exile features Iyer on pianos and electronics, Ismaily on bass and Moog synth and Aftab singing in Urdu.
The acclaimed vocalist, pianist and multi-instrumentalist/producer first debuted their trio with an NYC performance in 2018, going on to play half a dozen shows before recording Love in Exile. Iyer recalls that following debut, "We were mystified and almost silent and said: 'I don't know what just happened. But we should do that again.'"
The first piece to arrive is "To Remain/To Return," which you can hear below alongside a visualizer. To Iyer, the composition "reveals not just the melody but the birth of a song. I hear Shahzad and myself establishing these haunted cycles, then slowly and delicately transforming them, as Arooj glides across like a dark moon."
Aftab adds: "This piece holds, at its core, the delicately unfolding emotion of separation anxiety induced fury (see: love, self exile) between two people who are deeply connected. One is leaving and the other is asking them to stay. The former is saying 'I will leave but I will also return'; in better form for the both of us."
"We all provide the best we can," continues Ismaily. "In my case it's euclidean rhythms, crystals to hold the oceanic beauty of Vijay's keys and the silent raven of Arooj's voice. We grow to the company that we keep; I am both fortunate and grateful."
Aftab, Iyer and Ismaily have also shared a slate of North American tour dates, including summer jazz festival stops in Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver. Ahead of further performance announcements, you can find their present itinerary below.
Aftab's Grammy-winning solo album Vulture Prince was named among Exclaim!'s Best Albums of 2021.
Love in Exile:
1. To Remain/To Return
2. Haseen Thi
3. Shadow Forces
4. Sajni
5. Eyes of the Endless
6. Sharabi
Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily 2023 Tour Dates:
03/31 Knoxville, TN - Big Ears Music Festival
04/14 North Bethesda, MD - The Music Center at Strathmore
04/28 Burlington, VT - UVM Recital Hall
05/07 Krems an der Donau, Austria - Donaufestival, Minoritenkirche
05/09 Brussels, Belgium - Les Nuits Botanique Festival, Notre Dame Church
05/11 Luxembourg, Luxembourg - Neimënster
05/13 Berlin, Germany - XJazz! Festival, Emmauskirche
05/25 Hamburg, Germany - Elbphilharmonie
05/29 Zürich, Switzerland - Moods
05/30 Utrecht, Netherlands - Tivoli Vredenburg
06/02 London, England - The Barbican Centre
06/26 Vancouver, BC - Vancouver Jazz Festival
06/28 Ottawa, ON - Ottawa Jazz Festival
06/29 Montrral, QC - Montreal Jazz Festival
07/27 North Adams, MA - Bang on a Can's: Loud Weekend 2023 at Mass MoCA
07/29 Katonah, NY - Caramoor Center for the Arts
09/14 New York, NY - Venue TBA
09/19 San Diego, CA - Epstein Family Amphitheatre
09/20 Los Angeles, CA - Venue TBA
09/21 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
09/28 Tempe, AZ - Tempe Center for the Arts
09/29 Austin, TX - Venue TBA
09/30 Denver, CO - Venue TBA
10/04 Cleveland, OH Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art
10/05 Princeton, NJ - Venue TBA
10/07 Blacksburg, VA - Venue TBA
10/08 Boston, MA - Institute of Contemporary Art
10/10 Minneapolis, MN - The Cedar
10/11 Chicago, IL - Venue TBA
10/12 Iowa City, IA - Infinite Dream Festival
