JazzNights 23

Mr. Terrasson is the winner of the 1993 Monk competition, a two-time Grammy nominee, and winner of numerous awards for his CDs - Prix Django Reinhardt, Best Jazz Album of the Year, two Django d'Or Awards, and more. The son of a French mother and an American father,  Mr. Terrasson was born in Berlin in 1966. At the age of 11, he discovered his mother's collection of jazz records and was hooked. He went on to study at the Lycee Lamartine and the Berklee College of Music, and perhaps even more important, joined Betty Carter for a year immediately after winning the Monk competition. A year on the road with Ms. Carter is roughly the equivalent of a elevated graduate degree; it is simply amazing how many of today's best jazz musicians spent time with Ms. Carter. Mr. Terrasson performs regularly in New York jazz clubs as well as all over the US and Europe. Next month, he is scheduled to play in Bosnia.

The Monk Award also led to a contract with Blue Note, which, in turn has resulted in eight fine CDs. The first of them, "Jacky Terrasson," is still one of his best, and the lead-off tune on that CD, I Love Paris, remains one of my favorite Terrasson songs. It's intense, but subtle, and the typical Terrasson use of dynamics, crescendos that sometimes do and sometimes don't' lead to the anticipated resolution, is particularly apparent, as is the brilliant interplay between Terrasson and the other members of that first trio, bassist Ugonna Okegwo and the wonderfully minimalist drummer, Leon Parker. This trio was also featured on Terrasson's second CD for Blue Note, "Reach," and again it is the first

tune, this time a standard, I Should Care, done in a somewhat Monkish style, that I find most arresting. A second fine trio featured Sean Smith (JazzNights 1 and 21) on bass, and the excellent, and decidedly non-minimalist young drummer Eric Harland. You can hear them on "Smile," and be sure to catch the title tune. It may take you a bit of time to hear the tune

coming. His most recent CD, "Mirror," is a solo effort, and it is in that perilous, without-a-net mode that Mr. Terrasson will appear next month at JazzNights. Be prepared for something that doesn't often appear on the trio CDs, no matter how good they are (and they are!). In the solo mode, a sensitive delicacy comes through, both in the covers and the originals. It will be interesting to hear his next trio CD, to see how his focus on these solo performances transforms and enriches what is already a most formidable talent.

Here is a list of his other Blue Note CDs. They are all good. I've mentioned my favorites already.

Jacky Terrasson, 1994, BN CDP 29351 2 4: JT, Okegwo, Parker

Reach, 1995, BN 35739: JT, Okegwo, Parker

Rendez-Vous, 1996, BN 55484, A collaboration between JT and Cassandra Wilson

Alive, 1997, BN CDP 59651:A live CD at Iridium in NYC.

What It Is, 1999, BN 98756: various small groups.

A Paris, 2001, BN 27637: JT with a variety of groups doing French-influenced music

Smile, 2003, BN 40668: JT, Sean Smith, Eric Harland

Mirror, 2007, BN 91185: JT solo, and by far the most representative CD for what you'll hear November 10th.

and consider:

Kindred, 2001, BN 31868, JT in duets with vibraphonist Stefon Harris.