Key contemporary jazz pianist Vijay Iyer has followed, from his sensational debut with Steve Coleman, a unique and fearless journey, off the beaten track and at the same time closer to the light. As brilliant in sound experiences of his quartet as in invigorating transgenre projects with the DJ Talvin Singh or the rapper Mike Ladd, the New Yorker is among those who register Jazz and improvised music in the next century. Tirtha, his new album with two ultra-virtuosos of Indian music, is a trio with prodigious interactivity, combining blunt sounds and sharp angles of the best contemporary jazz, with the intimacy of raga and the infinite subtleties of Indian Carnatic music, to sculpt a new sparkling sound. And magical.