Iyer and Smith weave in and out of dialogs and sometimes unify in a solitary expression but at all times there is an awareness and acuity between the players that overlaps and breaks away on razor-thin margins. The compositions—bookended by those of Iyer and later Smith—are full and rich with the suite (authored by both composers) being a completely mesmerizing and engaging work. Iyer and Smith may represent two different generations of artists but both are at their creative peaks. For fans of either, A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke is a must-have album.
Karl Ackermann, All About Jazz
A trumpet/piano duo is a tough call, but the two operate with a charismatic delicacy and subtle force. The centrepiece is a largely improvised seven-part suite dedicated to Indian visual artist Nasreen Mohamedi. Smith’s tone and phrasing often reflect mid-period Miles Davis, but he blends free jazz into those resources with a unique poetic focus. Long high squeals and tumbling unfold over Iyer’s humming electronics, a bright brass fanfare soars over a chordal rumble, and a lamenting muted-trumpet descent invokes ‘Sketches of Spain’. Iyer mostly functions as a discreet foil, but this intimate conversation swells from interesting to enthralling as it unfolds.
John Fordham, The Guardian
One of the album’s most compelling features is its logical framework, which is especially the case on the suite. Whether agreeing upon a rough roadmap beforehand, or working it out in the moment (that it is unclear makes the feat even more impressive), Iyer and Smith create a narrative that captivates and draws the listener ever closer to the music. Given the album’s excellence and amount of critical acclaim Iyer and Smith have received in recent years, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a cosmic rhythm with each stroke at the top of several year-end best of lists and critics polls. It is a significant accomplishment.
Chris Robinson, Point of Departure
The new record takes its title from a line in the diaries of Nasreen Mohamedi, the Indian visual artist who died in 1990, and whose drawings and photographs are being exhibited at the Met Breuer. A large part of the record — a seven-part suite with the same title as the album — is inspired by that work and shares some of its characteristics: repetition and mysticism, bold purpose and open space, abstraction and gorgeousness. […] The album is bookended with compositions by Mr. Iyer and Mr. Smith, and in the middle comes the suite, credited to them both: delicate improvised music with an arc, from rigor practiced in turns to a more impassioned, breathing-together quality.
Ben Ratliff, The New York Times
On ‘A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke’ Iyer reconnects with Smith in a studio for the first time since appearing as a sideman on the trumpeter’s 2009 album Spiritual Dimensions. Their meeting here results in a frequently gorgeous, sometimes roiling set that stands out in each artist’s catalog.
Seth Colter Walls, Pitchfork
At times, the two reach a level of delicacy approaching silence, while at other times, they enter a slightly louder zone, utilizing freer rhythms and tonalities. Smith’s trumpet sings plaintively and is often the most immediate presence to the casual listener. But Iyer never sinks completely into the background. His lines simultaneously show great sensitivity and independence. These two musicians demonstrate a wonderful telepathy, and exemplify the kind of egalitarian beauty possible in the duo format. […] one can only hope these two will continue to work together, both as a duo and in a larger group context.
Allen Griffin, Burning Ambulance
Smith ist ein ungemein intensiver, immer melodiebezogener freier Improvisator mit einem jenseitig glänzenden Trompeten-Sound, agil wie Don Cherry und mächtig wie Lester Bowie; und Iyers verwobene Klavierkunst, mal einfühlsam bis an die Grenzen der Selbstpreisgabe, dann wieder als starker Gegenpart sich prägnant behauptend, ist, wie diese Musik insgesamt, un-erhört. Einmalig, jenseits aller Kategorien.
Peter Rüedi, Die Weltwoche
Although the aesthetic of each artist has its specifics Smith and Iyer are bound by a desire to go down roads less travelled both harmonically and rhythmically, so the organic shifts of tonal centre or pulse only add to the ‘open sky’ of the music […] It is not common to assign terms such as sensual to music made by artists perceived as avant-garde, due to the way the genre is stereotyped, but there is a lyricism as well as provocation here that reflects well on the rich subject matter.
Kevin Le Gendre, Jazzwise
Plus qu’un dialogue intergénérationnel ou une relation de mentor à disciple, ce duo traduit une authentique rencontre entre deux des personnalités les plus créatives du jazz d’aujourd’hui […] Magnifiée par une prise de son qui laisse s’exprimer à plein les dynamiques, cette musique chambriste semble à la fois toujours égale à ellemême et constamment en movement. Une certaine idée de l’eternité?
Pascal Rozat, Jazz Magazine
Iyer und Smith demonstrieren hier mehr als 50 Minuten eindrucksvoll die hohe Kunst des musikalischen Dialogs – schweifen durch meditative Gefilde, kulminieren in fesselnden expressiven Eruptionen und streuen auch mal Free-Jazz-Passagen ein, die durchaus mit Ecken und Kanten an den Hörgewohnheiten kratzen. Durchbrochen wird der anspruchsvoll intensive Dialog immer wieder durch sensible, eher reflektierend wirkende Solo-Passagen. Umrahmt wird dieses mehrteilige Kernstück von Iyers Komposition „Passage“ und Smiths „Marian Anderson“, das er der berühmten schwarzen Opernsängerin und Bürgerrechtsaktivistin gewidmet hat. Beides eher nachdenkliche Stücke, in denen die beiden Ausnahmekünstler ebenfalls ihr volles Repertoire an musikalischen Ausdrucksformen ausschöpfen können. Vijay Iyer bezeichnet Leo Smith in den Liner Notes als ‚hero, friend and teacher for nearly two decades‘ – die Lehrzeit hat sich mehr als ausgezahlt.
Peter Füßl, Kultur
An opening section, ‘All Becomes Alive,’ lures listeners with long declarative tones from Mr. Smith’s trumpet underscored by a hollow drone. Often, as in ‘Labyrinths,’ Messrs. Iyer and Smith manage to conflate seemingly disjointed musical phrases with the casualness of conversation. ‘Uncut Emeralds’ is spare and gestural, yet precisely calibrated. ‘A Cold Fire’ sounds as if about to combust. Two sections, ‘A Divine Courage’ and ‘Notes on Water,’ suggest ballads tantalizingly out of reach. If this suite is a shared response to Mohamedi’s artwork, it more so expresses the relationship shared by Mr. Iyer, 44, and Mr. Smith, 74, who is one of his closest mentors.
Larry Blumenfeld, Wall Street Journal
Iyer, der Smith als seinen persönlichen ‚hero, friend, and teacher‘ bezeichnet, gelingt hier in einem so intimen wie intensiven Zwiegespräch mit dem Trompeter ein Album, dessen spezifischer Sound selbst in die Geschichte des Labels zurückweist. Man hört ein geradezu exemplarisches ECM-Album. Auf ,A cosmic rhythm with every stroke‘ finden sich Spuren von Free Jazz, Neuer Musik, Kammermusik und indischer Folklore. Dazu wechselt Iyer vom Flügel ans Fender Rhodes und unterfüttert die luftigen Texturen mit Electronics-Ambience. Ein ganz großer Wurf intergenerationellen und –kulturellen Austauschs!
Ulrich Kriest, Stuttgarter Zeitung
Despite the title, there’s a delightfully earthy feel to this intimate and supple trumpet and keyboards CD. Both musicians have full bodied tones – Iyer resonant on piano, supple on electronica; Smith brahs and brassy on trumpet – and both have a strong sense of melody and form.
Mike Hobart, Financial Times
Iyer und Smith demonstrieren hier mehr als 50 Minuten eindrucksvoll die hohe Kunst des musikalischen Dialogs – schweifen durch meditative Gefilde, kulminieren in fesselnden expressiven Eruptionen und streuen auch mal Free-Jazz-Passagen ein, die durchaus mit Ecken und Kanten an den Hörgewohnheiten kratzen. Durchbrochen wird der anspruchsvoll intensive Dialog immer wieder durch sensible, eher reflektierend wirkende Solo-Passagen. Umrahmt wird dieses mehrteilige Kernstück von Iyers Komposition „Passage“ und Smiths „Marian Anderson“, das er der berühmten schwarzen Opernsängerin und Bürgerrechtsaktivistin gewidmet hat. Beides eher nachdenkliche Stücke, in denen die beiden Ausnahmekünstler ebenfalls ihr volles Repertoire an musikalischen Ausdrucksformen ausschöpfen können. Vijay Iyer bezeichnet Leo Smith in den Liner Notes als ‚hero, friend and teacher for nearly two decades‘ – die Lehrzeit hat sich mehr als ausgezahlt.
Peter Füßl, Kultur
Sie musizieren seit rund zehn Jahren zusammen, und jene große Vertrautheit, ihre beseelte Interaktion ist eines der Charakteristiken, dieser fesselnden Begegnung […] Wie in einen Zen-Garten entführt einen Iyers Klavier im ersten Stück, im zweiten stößt die Solotrompete einen Bordunton vom Synthie an, folgt ein zwischen zwei Tönen leise pendelndes Bassmotiv, das wiederum eine Klavierpassage auslöst. Unaufdringliche Zieltöne bilden die Vektoren.
Karl Lippegaus, Fono Forum
A duet session with pianist Vijay Iyer, 44, and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, 74, both master musicians, immersed in avant-garde composition but comfortable with basking in lyrical ballads too, ‘A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke’ is spacey without devolving into New Age goo, intense (sometimes simmering, sometimes bursting to a boil) without losing the theme or pulse of a piece.
Fred Kaplan, Stereophile
Diese Musik ist, auch in neutönerischen Exkursionen, zutiefst erfüllt von Emotionalität. Bei Smith schwingt – vom brüchigen Stöhnen bis zum metallisch strahlenden Schmettern – stets das Erbe der Blues-Tradition mit: in expressiven Vokalisierungen, subtilen Tonverschleifungen und minimalsten Sound-Modellierungen. Durchweg bestechend ist die Klarheit und die Konturenschärfe seiner Phrasierung […] Iyer brilliert durch den Variationsreichtum seines Spiels. […] Diese faszinierende Duo-Musik fesselt den Zuhörer nicht durch Anbiederung, sondern durch die Magie ihres Erfindungsreichtums.
Georg Spindler, Mannheimer Morgen
If you want to hear two hyperaware musicians respond to each other in real time, this soundscape has your name on it […] Like the abstract visual art this album invokes, Smith's music runs deep and often does not give up its secrets easily. But it's definitely worth an extended hang.
Paul de Barros, Downbeat
Though he can mix it in the wildest of free-form melees, Smith’s deepest strength is an unsentimental, powerfully emotional lyricism delivered via a tone as human as it is brassy, accounting to the kind of expression you might expect from a man whose interests and commitment embrace meditational philosophies and the long, bitter civil rights struggle. Iyer, on keyboards and subtle electronics, contributes beautiful lines, harmonics and colour washes.
Barry Witherden. BBC Music Magazine
Smith’s trumpet is stately and finely nuanced throughout, and consistent in his general avoidance of fast tempos or easy intervals. His musical compass is beautifully accurate, so that there is something very clear-sighted about his extempore lines, as if he can scan many destinations from a distance, choose one, and chart a path confidently, without missing a step. Iyer contributes mostly gentle piano accompaniment, note clusters that offset the horn, background ripples, thoughtful responses to the trumpeter’s statements, occasional interjections that announce a new direction. A little light electronics colours some of their exchanges, and at times supplies the simplest pulse. Their conversation has an appealingly confiding tone at times, and can be brooding, but is mainly quietly celebratory.
Jon Turney, London Jazz News
