Having enjoyed a terrific afternoon concert by Jacky Terrasson at the Portland Jazz Festival, it was a real pleasure to get into his 2007 Blue Note CD. In one way it was even more satisfying since at the Festival he had a trio and here his talents are under a magnifying glass, being strictly unaccompanied piano. Terrasson has a French father and American mother and came to prominence thru winning the Thelonious Monk Piano Competition in l993. He was also pianist for both Betty Carter and Cassandra Wilson.
His Steinway sound is close and very rich; in Caravan he reaches inside the strings for rhythmic effects. Five of the 11 tracks are originals by Terrasson, starting with the lovely ballad Juvenile. His treatment of America the Beautiful is a searching exploration with unexpected twists and turns. In fact that would be a good summary of most of his tunes – the pulse is often left behind, but there are some striking harmonic adventures here.
TrackList:
Caravan, Juvenile, Just a Gigolo, You’ve Got a Friend, Little Red Ribbon, Tragic Mulatto Blues, America the Beautiful, Cherokee, Everything Happens to Me, Mirror, Go Round
– John Henry
