A selection of NPR Music's best 50 albums of 2017. (Clockwise from upper left) Far from Over by Vijay Iyer, Plunge by Fever Ray, Everybody Works by Jay Som, Aromanticism by Moses Sumney, Luv Is Rage 2 by Lil Uzi Vert and 4:44 by Jay-Z. Courtesy of the artists hide caption
Vijay Iyer Lena Adasheva/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Anonymous (male) jazz players. Markus Amon/Getty Images hide caption
Clockwise from upper left: Esperanza Spalding, Vijay Iyer, The No BS Brass Band, Robert Glasper NPR hide caption
Maria Schneider and Rudresh Mahanthappa share top honors in the 2015 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll. Briene Lermitte/Jimmy Katz/Courtesy of the artists hide caption
Vijay Iyer Trio plays the Temple of Dendur. NPR hide caption
Vijay Iyer Trio performs a Tiny Desk Concert on April 20, 2015. Olivia Merrion/NPR hide caption
The audience at the main stage of the Newport Jazz Festival. Adam Kissick for NPR hide caption
For three years, jazz musician Vijay Iyer has worked with poet and performer Mike Ladd to set the words of war veterans to music. The resulting album, released earlier this month, is called Holding It Down: The Veterans' Dreams Project. Jimmy Katz/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Vijay Iyer and Jeremy Denk are 2013 MacArthur fellows. Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Filmmaker Prashant Bhargava and jazz musician Vijay Iyer's project Radhe Radhe: a visually and sonically dazzling collaboration. KPO Photo/courtesy of Carolina Performing Arts hide caption
Vijay Iyer performs at WBGO. Josh Jackson/See More Photos hide caption
The Vijay Iyer trio (L-R): Stephan Crump, Marcus Gilmore, Vijay Iyer. Lynne Harty hide caption
