For the 2.4 million veterans who’ve served in Iraq and Afghanistan, the experience of war isn’t necessarily ended by coming home. Memories -particularly traumatic ones - stay with them for life, often manifesting themselves in dreams. The retelling of those dreams is at the heart of Holding It Down: The Veterans’ Dreams Project, a 2012 collaboration between pianist and composer Vijay Iyer and poet Mike Ladd. Together with Iraq War veteran, poet, and vocalist Maurice Decaul, they discuss the impact of modern-day warfare on the psyche and the decision to focus on veterans of color for this project. Plus, Ladd, Iyer, Decaul, along with percussionist Kassa Overall, bassist Guillermo Brown, cellist Okkyung Lee, and guitarist Liberty Ellman, play selections from the work, in-studio. 

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