Prism 1965 : Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith 4/12/23 University of Hartford

 Billed as a “meditation on the year 1965”, a pivotal year marked by the assassination of Malcolm X, the marches in Selma, the invasion of Vietnam, the Watts uprising, and the passage of the Voting Rights and Immigration and Nationality Acts. Composer performers Smith (trumpet) and Iyer ( piano, Fender Rhodes, and electronics) soundtracked visuals provided by Whitney artist in residence Chiraag Bhakta. The performance was alleged to offer a”sonic and visual meditation on the relevance of those past events to our present moment, creating possibilities for meaning that language cannot touch”. Problem was, I felt little of that lofty missive. Smith and Iyer are on top of the modern composition ladder. I have seen them perform at a recent Newport Jazz and they were true to their form on this evening. Smith has won a Pulitzer and his challenging music often reflects social, natural, and political themes. Iyer’s honors include a MacArthur Fellowship, Grammy nominations and has an excellent new release collaborating with vocalist Arooj Aftab and multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily. The music is decidedly “uneasy listening”. Smith squawked and squiggled with and without his trusty cup mute. On quiet parts, Smith closed his eyes as if to meditate on Iyer’s lead. Iyer usually relies on the Steinway, but on this evening he dabbled with the Fender Rhodes and laptop electronics. The visual backdrop was puzzling. I am no video artist, and I have zero skills in assessing the relative complexity of a video feed, so I guess that makes me an expert on the critique. The picture movement speed was tectonic, so slow that it spurned my interest. The frames slowly mashed images utilizing a color palette of red, white, blue, and black. The speed and the rudimentary color palette were side issues, the main problem was that I could discern little of 1965 from the visuals, which was the whole point. We were left with a concert of the avant- garde stylings of the musicians. I was hoping for more Koyaanisqatsi and less Cafe Oto. The performance did make me meditate. I was able to meditate on how it was possible for me to miss the stated purpose of this performance.