Vijay Iyer is the son of Indian Tamil immigrants to the US. He received 15 years of Western classical training on violin beginning at the age of 3. He began playing the piano by ear in his childhood, and is mostly self-taught on that instrument. His high school years saw a growing interest in jazz. Now a New York based jazz pianist, composer, and producer, he performs around the world with his various ensembles and collaborations, including his trio, quartet, and quintet; his large-scale works with poet-performer Mike Ladd; the experimental collective Fieldwork; the new South Asian chamber trio Tirtha; and Raw Materials, his longstanding duo with saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa.