Jazz Articles about Jacky Terrasson

Jacky Terrasson: Push

by Raul d'Gama Rose
May 17, 2010

There are three qualities about pianist Jacky Terrasson's music that make it irresistible and riveting. The first is that it dances interminably. Secondly, it is jagged and angular--an epithet often used to describe the music of Thelonious Monk and which suits Terrasson well as, even with his singularly distinctive voice, he is genealogically connected. Finally, Terrasson has a penchant for a playful, almost puckish, interpretation, where humor is implicit. As such he negotiates all melodies, even those that are contemplative, ...

Jacky Terrasson: Mirror

by Doug Collette
November 2, 2007

In a tenure with the vaunted Blue Note label that has produced ten full-length CDs in a variety of settings and production styles, Jacky Terrasson has never recorded a solo piano album. After a hiatus of sorts, the pianist/composer /bandleader has completed that project, though not without some self-admitted soul- searching, creative and otherwise. The wait, however, was worth it.

Mirror is a thing of beauty. Terrasson has proven himself a courageously proficient jazz musician on ...

Jacky Terrasson: Mirror

by J Hunter
October 14, 2007

Jacky Terrasson's claim that he hadn't recorded a solo-piano disc before because he “wasn't ready to take it on is mind boggling, since he has excelled at everything he's attempted: Berklee School of Music, the Monk Competition, his first pro gig as Betty Carter's pianist, and his collaborations with heavy hitters like Cassandra Wilson and Stefon Harris, to name just a few. But then, solo piano is way different than all that; the artist is out on the wire with ...

Jacky Terrasson: Mirror

by Andrew Velez
October 13, 2007

Pianist Jacky Terrasson has been on a recording hiatus since his 2003 set Smile (Blue Note), but he's back and swinging with this, his first solo outing, revealingly rich in tempos and colors. Terrasson has an ample supply of virile dynamics that can skillfully dip and slide into all sorts of places and moods. It happens here right off with the opener, the Ellington/Mills/Razaf classic, “Caravan. What begins as a turbulent desert windstorm segues into a swaying night journey with ...

Jacky Terrasson: Mirror

by Mark Corroto
September 4, 2007

If you had to write a headline for the career of Jacky Terrasson it might be “from brash to brilliant." The forty-something pianist took the jazz world by storm, winning the Thelonious Monk piano competition in 1993 only to make some impetuous records that wowed you with his talent. But they didn't register high with their significance.

But like his contemporary Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Terrasson has matured into a more expressive player whose music maintains its staying power. builds on the ...

Jacky Terrasson: Mirror

by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
August 23, 2007

Solo piano is a risky business: if the pianist hasn't got the stuff, there's absolutely nothing to hide behind. It's not enough to noodle aimlessly, pretending that every note is profound, or to fill the air with thunderous pounding that's more noise than brilliance. There should be real substance: thoughtfulness in both the choice of material and the playing of it; chops, flair, and versatility; and above all, a clear sense of the artist's individual voice and soul.

Jacky Terrasson: Smile

by Jim Santella
January 7, 2003

Each of the ten albums that Jacky Terrasson has issued since he won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition in 1993 has grown logically out of its predecessor. Smile moves forward from À Paris to encompass an eclectic program where jazz standards are mixed with pop songs. It’s the kind of program one might find on a live album, where interaction with the audience prompts the artist to vary in topical substance. Remember the classic film scene where Nat ...