''What It Is'' is a studio album by jazz pianist

Jacky Terrasson Jacky Terrasson (born November 27, 1965) is a French jazz pianist and composer. Background Terrasson's mother is African-American from Georgia, and his father is French. From his parents he heard classical music as a child. He began piano lesson ...

released on May 18, 1999 by

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...

label. Terrasson plays on a Steinway piano.

Reception

Phil Gallo of ''

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'' stated, "Terrasson’s fourth album as a leader, “What It Is” on Blue Note, finds the much-heralded French-American pianist tackling soulful numbers and works composed for an assortment of instrumentalists... His adventurousness deserves kudos — but this band’s execution needs work."

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote, "This set is a bit of a departure for pianist Jacky Terrasson who has generally been heard in acoustic trio formats... Overall, this set is open to the influences of world music and more funk-oriented jazz, yet Jacky Terrasson still sounds quite creative, explorative and individual. An intriguing program." Geoffrey Himes of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' added, "the Parisian pianist has often been a prisoner of his own virtuosity, compelled to prove how many notes he could play in a chorus rather than how much emotion. By concentrating on more obvious melodies and by experimenting with different arrangements, Terrasson has broken out of that prison and expressed himself as never before."

Track listing

Personnel

– acoustic piano *Rick Centalonza – flute, oboe * Adam Rogers – guitar * Fernando Saunders – electric bass * Mino Cinelu – drums, percussion *

Ugonna Okegwo Ugonna Okegwo (born March 15, 1962) is a German-Nigerian jazz bassist and composer based in New York City. Biography Born in London, Okegwo is the son of Christel Katharina Lulf and Madueke Benedict Okegwo. In 1963 the family moved to Münste ...

– acoustic bass *Jaz Sawyer – drums *

Richard Bona Richard Bona (born 28 October 1967) is a Cameroon-born American multi-instrumentalist and singer. Early life Bona Penda Nya Yuma Elolo was born in Minta, Cameroon, into a family of musicians, which enabled him to start learning music from a y ...

– electric bass *Jay Collins – flute * Gregoire Maret – harmonica *

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...

– tenor saxophone *Xiomara Laugarts – vocals

References

{{Authority control 1999 albums Jacky Terrasson albums Blue Note Records albums