Still Life with Commentator
| 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 | |||
| Producer | ||||
| 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.
Critical reception
| 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]
Track listing
| 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 |
Personnel
Credits adapted from liner notes.
- Vijay Iyer – piano, synthesizer
- Mike Ladd – vocals, production, liner notes, photography
- Guillermo E. Brown – vocals, electronic percussion
- Pálína Jónsdóttir – vocals
- Masayasu Nakanishi – vocals
- Liberty Ellman – guitar
- Okkyung Lee – cello
- Pamela Z – vocals, electronic processing, translation
- Scotty Hard – production
References
- ^ a b Horton, Lyn (April 8, 2007). "Vijay Iyer And Mike Ladd: Still Life With Commentator". All About Jazz. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- ^ a b Westergaard, Sean. "Still Life with Commentator - Vijay Iyer, Mike Ladd". AllMusic. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- ^ Hull, Tom. "Tom Hull: Grade List: Vijay Iyer". tomhull.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 752. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
- ^ Shanley, Mike (June 1, 2007). "Vijay Iyer & Mike Ladd: Still Life With Commentator". JazzTimes. Retrieved January 13, 2020.