Hardbopjazz Posted March 25, 2004 Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 I bought his CD Reach on a whim. It's real good. I heard him on the raido and decided give him a shot. Anything else by him worth checking out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted March 25, 2004 Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 Smile is quite nice. I like his first one on US Blue Note (just called "Jacky Terrason"?) a lot. And one that I think may be called "Rhapsody" that had a Weather Report feel to it. Those are out of print though. I haven't yet heard "Rendezvous" or "Paris". . . but I will. I really like his role in Jimmy Scott's "Heaven" release as well. And he plays quite well on Barney Wilen's "Paris Mood." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted March 25, 2004 Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 I spoke wrongly: it appears that "Jacky Terrason" is still in print. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted March 25, 2004 Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 I like him pretty well, too. I got the "Jacky Terrasson" disc, "Reach", and "Alive". The last one is my favorite, I think. Also I saw him live once (with Sean Smith and Leon Parker), and it was a great set he played. He ended with a tune that's one of the highlights, in my opinion, of "Alive": Love For Sale played on top of the bass-vamp of Herbie Hancock's Chameleon. He can play lyrical, he can groove, and what stands out in his playing, I think, is his use of dynamics. I don't hear that in contemporary jazz too often. He's a really dramatic player, he can whisper and he can scream on that piano. ubu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzmessenger Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 I don't buy many new releases, but I liked songs I heard on BN radio so much that I ended up buying his newest CD, "Smile". I really love that CD. I recently picked up "Alive". I only listened to it once. I like it so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcoliv Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 Terrasson is a favorite of mine "Alive" is wonderful IMHO, "What It Is" (with a fantastic rendition of Ravel's Bolero) is a different one but quite good and "Lover Man" released by Venus is also very good. "A Paris" has La Marseillaise on a jazzy mood and it´s a very beautiful performance addicted as i am about this particular country, "A Paris" is very special for me Marcus Oliveira Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardbopjazz Posted March 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 I'lll try Reach next. That CD was at the Towerrecords by me. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 He ended with a tune that's one of the highlights, in my opinion, of "Alive": Love For Sale played on top of the bass-vamp of Herbie Hancock's Chameleon. That was a very cool idea, IMO. The plus of the trio with Leon Parker was the wide dynamics and creative approach to trio playing, using the Ahmad Jamal Trio with Israel Crosby and Vernel Fournier as a kind of reference point. The minus was that it is a little too controlled. Where I can listen to Jamal over and over again, the Terasson trio starts getting stale after a dozen listens and doesn't sound as fresh anymore. Just my opinion - I kind of lost my enthusiasm for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 He ended with a tune that's one of the highlights, in my opinion, of "Alive": Love For Sale played on top of the bass-vamp of Herbie Hancock's Chameleon. That was a very cool idea, IMO. The plus of the trio with Leon Parker was the wide dynamics and creative approach to trio playing, using the Ahmad Jamal Trio with Israel Crosby and Vernel Fournier as a kind of reference point. The minus was that it is a little too controlled. Where I can listen to Jamal over and over again, the Terasson trio starts getting stale after a dozen listens and doesn't sound as fresh anymore. Just my opinion - I kind of lost my enthusiasm for them. I experienced the same with the "J.T." and "Reach" discs, but not with "Alive". But live he was better indeed. Funny was that Leon Parker was playing a FULL drum set! Yet it did not really make much of a difference (and I saw Ahmad the same night, with Idris Muhammad on drums and George Coleman sitting in for two thirds of the set - and it seemed Ahmad had lost it, while Terrasson on that night was really hot) ubu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 (edited) That observation confirms a few of my thoughts: 1) most drummers don't use the hi-hat in a creative way, just as a timekeeper - and if you make that accent with the brush, as Leon did, the hi-hat seems superfluous. It was funny - I started playing the drumset at around the time Leon hit the scene, and had the same thoughts about the hi-hat and the whole set, that a good drummer can swing a band with just a ride cymbal, went to the gig without a hi-hat and a similar minimalistic approach, and got plenty of strange looks. When I heard Leon it was a reinforcement of these ideas, but I find him to be very controlled in the sense of straight timing and predictability, even when he cuts loose - like on the ALIVE! album and the live track on his 32Jazz CD. I think he was the prefectionist of that trio. He certainly was on his own CDs, he doesn't improvise very much on the hand drums, and his sound on the conga is thin and his technique a little amateurish. The record where I like Leon Parker best is Geoff Keezer's "Other Spheres", where he handles the intricate arrangements with aplomb - and a hi-hat! And Jamal - his trio with Crosby and Fournier is hard to top. I like that CD with Muhammad. Seems he's growing old, musaically speaking. No wonder - but he really has played enough great piano for a lifetime. BTW - I remember Jacky Terrasson playing some hot hardbop piano on drummer Sebastian Whittaker's third CD "One For Bu!!" on Justice (http://www.justicerecords.com/) - anybody wanting a hot Messengers tribute is in for a treat, and it sounds terrific! Edited March 26, 2004 by mikeweil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 And Jamal - his trio with Crosby and Fournier is hard to top. I like that CD with Muhammad. Seems he's growing old, musaically speaking. No wonder - but he really has played enough great piano for a lifetime. We agree on that, for sure! (And I guess we have that dream of a complete Ahmad Jamal Argo/Chess box on Mosaic...) Thanks for your interesting comments! I don't have the CD (you mean the one recorded at the Olympia in Paris, Dreyfus, I think, yes?) - I always thought to keep the memory from that live concert (Muhammad was smokin' and Coleman was in pretty good shape, too - Jamal was alright, but there were moments where he was trying too hard, and moments where he sounded a bit like a caricature of himself in his best days...) ubu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeweil Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 The Cd I have is a French studio recording: Cammack and Muhammad are very good, Jamal is nice. Of course he is not as hot as in his prime. I have it with a different cover - they made three discs with that title, The Essence. I'm afraid any Jamal Mosaic is way out of reach - Jamal is sueing Universal: His original contract with Chess included a passage that he be asked before any subsequent issue, probaly to ensure his consent and payment of royalties. Universal has done three or four reissues without asking him prior to release, so he sued. I asked Mosaic and they replied, otherwise they would have done the Jamal trio with Ray Crawford long ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnS Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 I'm not sure about Terrasson. One moment he's incredible, melody, harmony rythm all come together, the next thing he's irritatingly ordinary. Leon Parker does great things with his stripped down drumset. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 He DOES have his ordinary moments. . . . This is still probably my favorite appearance of his: This is a fascinating cd for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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