Break Stuff features Vijay Iyer's long-running and widely-acclaimed trio with bassist Stephan Crump and drummer Marcus Gilmore, a band in existence for eleven years now. "We keep learning from each other and from experiences and try to set challenges for ourselves so that growth is part of the equation." It's a group whose musical language is informed by more than the jazz piano trio tradition. While Iyer acknowledges the influence of, for instance, Ahmad Jamal, Andrew Hill and Duke Ellington's Money Jungle album (with Charles Mingus and Max Roach) upon his own trio aesthetics, he points out that his group has also been inspired by "James Brown's rhythm section, Hendrix's Band of Gypsys, Miles Davis's rhythm section, Charlie Parker's rhythm section, soul music from the 1970s, electronic music and hip-hop from very recent times..." the list goes on. The piece "Hood" on the new recording is a tribute to Detroit minimal techno producer and DJ Robert Hood. "He did all this really interesting music with numerical patterning - different rhythms unfolding through each other, but still in a very clear dance music framework, very textural and sound-oriented. You hear the evolution of timbre. It became a point of reference for us, to see if we could capture some of that spirit in a purely acoustic framework." As for the album title, "Break Stuff" is what transpires after formal elements have been addressed. Vijay Iyer calls the break "a span of time in which to act. It's the basis for breakdowns, break-beats, and break dancing... it can be the moment when everything comes to life." a number of the pieces here are breakdowns of other Iyer constructions. Some are from a Break Stuff suite premiered at New York's Museum of Modern Art, some derive from Open City, a collaboration with Nigerian-born writer Teju Cole and large ensemble.

• Disc 1
  1. Starlings
  2. Chorale
  3. Diptych
  4. Hood
  5. Work
  6. Taking Flight
  7. Blood Count
  8. Break Stuff
  9. Mystery Woman
  10. Geese
  11. Countdown
  12. Wrens