Pianist Vijay Iyer and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith have recorded a new record called A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke, which will be released in late-March by the Munich label ECM.

At the heart of the album is a suite dedicated to Indian artist Nasreen Mohamedi. Another piece is dedicated to the great singer Marian Anderson who in 1955 became the first African-American soloist to perform with the Metropolitan Opera. Also in March Iyer is artist-in-residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York performing, “solo, with other musicians, dancers, and poets, and will also curate performances by fellow musicians and performers.” Publicity material also indicates that Iyer “will create sound installations specifically for the gallery, resulting in full-day performance experiences... collaborating with performance artists including Wadada Leo Smith, Kyle Abraham, Miranda Cuckson, Okkyung Lee, Michelle Boulé, Tyshawn Sorey, and Jen Shyu.” Iyer is to also premiere a new work commissioned by Met LiveArts for the exhibition dedicated to Indian modernist Nasreen Mohamedi, a link to the album. 

Iyer's 2015 trio album Break Stuff received consensus approval and acclaim from a group of leading German record critics as one of their chosen best albums of last year. updated 24/1/16 and corrected, 25/1/16