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What It Is
Jacky Terrasson
What It Is
Genres: Jazz, Pop
 
  •  Track Listings (9) - Disc #1

Jacky Terrasson has built a reputation as a lean and mean pianist with the ability to inject lightening bolts of energy into his work. On What It Is, however, Terrasson has taken a decidedly different direction. Rather tha...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Jacky Terrasson
Title: What It Is
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Blue Note Records
Original Release Date: 5/18/1999
Release Date: 5/18/1999
Genres: Jazz, Pop
Styles: Modern Postbebop, Bebop
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPCs: 724349875623, 0724349875654

Synopsis

Amazon.com
Jacky Terrasson has built a reputation as a lean and mean pianist with the ability to inject lightening bolts of energy into his work. On What It Is, however, Terrasson has taken a decidedly different direction. Rather than calling on his excellent trio, he has chosen to flesh out his band with the addition of everything from flute to guitar to harmonica. While this certainly allows Terrasson to flex his arranging muscles, many of these compositions feel watered down and lacking the intensity and exploration that has been his trademark on previous work. The opening track, "Sam's Song," sways with a 1970s feel that's part fusion, part smooth. The following cut, "What's Wrong with You," picks up the pace, as Terrasson and saxophonist Michael Brecker blaze through a note-burner that highlights Terrasson's remarkable speed and dexterity. Terrasson's curious, harmonica-led take on Pink Floyd's "Money" is slightly interesting, but gets bogged down by languid pacing, while a stab at Ravel's "Bolero" misses the mark entirely. The rest of the LP is a hodgepodge of different styles--touches of Latin and fusion fill out the sound, but don't do enough to add that crucial Terrasson spark to the work. --S. Duda

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CD Reviews

Cheesy and meandering...with chimes aplenty!
nathan | Oakland, CA. USA | 01/10/2000
(1 out of 5 stars)

"This is a surprisingly poor showing from a remarkable talent. Cheesy and meandering, with the scattered flashes of brilliance only adding insult to injury. And I actually like JT's rhodes playing a quite a bit, so this is not just a hardline anti-fusion perspective. First of all, will someone please hide Mino Cinelu's chimes next time he enters the studio? His incessant and tasteless use of this already questionable device is totally gratuitous, and adds considerably to the cloying quality of much of What It Is.An additional warning to any prospective buyers: be advised, several tunes feature a harmonica/flute front line...draw your own conclusions."
I confirm the amazon reviewer's comments
Frank S. Cohen | Leominster, MA | 06/10/1999
(3 out of 5 stars)

"I will confirm the amazon.com reviewer's description with the exception that the rendition of Bolero is more charming than he claims. The new quintet ensemble and the tunes from the CD are impressive live, which is why I bought the CD at the venue of the show. However, the album is a letdown. The one vocal tune the only true dud of the album because the singer has one of the most irritaing voices I have ever heard. She sounds like Jimmy Scott with a really bad cold."