Jacky & Ben-J [Import]

1. Bilan - Ben-J, Steeve "Makali" Douglas, Tyrone Downie, Earl "Broadfinger" Francis, ,

2. Personne

3. Ragga Salsa - Ben-J, ,

4. Ça Dégénère

5. Nouveau Souffle

6. Enfants du Soleil

7. On Fait Les Choses en 2.0.0.0. - Pit Baccardi, Ben-J, , ,

8. Quitter Son Pays

9. Têtes Brulées - Ben-J, ,

10. Front Line - Ben-J, , Frankie Paul

11. Jai Dit Oui - Ben-J, ,

12. Leves Les Mains Bien Haut

13. Fieres d'Etre Nèg'marrons

14. Faut K'ça Saigne - Ben-J, Fonky Family, , ,

Tracks:

Nature Boy
Datura
Caravanesque
Wide Sky
Mevlana Duke
Secretly Happy
Poinciana
Sensuendo
Suite De Caravan
Estate (Summer)

Customer Reviews:

Listen to it forever.......2005-02-18

This CD is never going to be very far from my player. It is the type of music that unfolds to you over time, again and again giving you something new everytime. It doesnt demand your attention but if you want, you could be utterly absorbed in the infinite improvisation, moodiness, and mirage like tempos. Besides the bamboo flute player, Hassell, Cooder and drone players, the pianist is about as good as it gets.

Beautifully Stange.......2004-03-15

I just heard this CD a few nights ago at a friends dinner party and it grabbed my attention right away...(in a subtle way, that is).

It is a strange sonic mix of electronics, primitivism and jazz. The mood is predominately VERY subtle and hypnotic; if I remember correctly, there is not a bar faster than andante on the entire CD. But trust me, this is a good thing.

And so is the fact that Ry Cooder produced it...

Best of Outside Ambient.......2001-11-03

The opening amazingly beautiful reading of "Nature Boy" is so stunning when Ronu Majumdar's flute begins it's circling run around Hassell's
solo trumpet. wow. we know we are in for something unique and amazing.

This is Hassell's first CD to include covers and as a fan, I welcome this as a trend. This CD is at once beautiful, odd, provocative, and
occasionally challenging. I suppose you could expect that with a meeting of Hassell, Cooder, Majumdar, and Terrasson.

Like most Water Lily cds, it's Recorded live to stereo master in that Santa Barbara seminary with all that fetishist tube gear as usual. Music like
this sums up the underlying vibe of Santa Barbara.

Perfect.......2001-08-11

Misty like a winter evening. Gradually, evening images give their place to night dreams. It is incredible that such things can happen on disc.

It's True........2001-04-06

Even though this disc was released some time ago, I have just come to it. I recall reading a piece about it in a music industry magazine at one point. As it turned out that written piece was really more about the actual recording process and the Waterlily Acoustics label's approach to sound than anything else. Still, I was intrigued as to what it would sound like (as an "ambient recording" process captured in a church with all tube analog stuff).

I should mention that I know of Mssr. Jon Hassell's work from 'back in the day' --- as a soloist on the classic beautiful albums "Remain in Light" by Talking Heads and "Brilliant Trees" by David Sylvian. Sometime during the 1990's I was able to track down a couple of his solo records. I must say that he is unique in the world of music. Of course this is no newz to those who know, and I am most likely preaching to the choir already with this, nevertheless, Jon Hassell knows about transcendance and how "that" relates to what we tend to call -- Music.

Mssr. Hassell is actually well beyond The Trumpet. The fact that his chosen instrument happens to BE The Trumpet is both lucky for us, the listeners, and meaningless to everyone concerned, because in the end His Heart and His Mind are coming from a place of Tone, of Frequency, and of Vibration. These "things" are certainly not contingent upon blowing The Trumpet. You see? One could choose to play the zither or the udu or the mouth organ, no matter in the hands of one who knows to reach Beyond (where the Music dwells). And once one would reach that "place" and to then share THAT, well now we're talking. And we ARE talking about Jon Hassell here for the moment (and in fact most of the folks involved with this particular CD). Kind of.

OK, so speaking of that place.......the last track on Fascinoma.......Estate (Summer).......is truly.......it is truly.......well.......there are no words. No words at all.

Tracks:

I Love Paris
Just A Blues
My Funny Valentine
Hommage A Lili Boulanger
Bye Bye Blackbird
He Goes On A Trip
I Fall In Love Too Easily
Time After Time
For Once In My Life
What A Difference A Day Made
Cumba's Dance

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Jazz from a little-known artist........2005-08-15

Jacky Terrasson may be an aquired taste to new listeners, but once you get used to his style you'll wonder what you did without songs like "I Love Paris" and "I Fall in Love Too Easily." I actually heard "I Love Paris" on the radio one night and called the station to find out what it was.
Probably wouldn't be a good first jazz cd, but if you already like jazz this will be a welcome addition to your collection.

Like it but don't love it.......2002-03-21

I think this young musician is terrific, and worth my listening time. I would like to have the kind of technical control on the piano he has, plus his grand extroversion and energy, to be able to spontaneously express whatever I felt or heard at the moment. Important to jazz. But what is also important for jazz as I have found over years and years of listening, is to develop a coherent musical statement or to tell a kind of story. The bebop folks and late swing folks, like Lester and Bud and the other big names knew this and did it. It seems as if their musical statement was a reflection of a deeper statement of self. Their young inheritors don't necessarily do this, and I don't know why except that it may be something you have inside, not something available outside, and maybe they just haven't been around enough. I hate to make it sound like the usual stuff, like race, and now age bias. Jackie has a lot of energy and skill, but I am not much interested in what he says, or doesn't say. It lacks focus and coherence, or at least a kind of focus and coherence that engages me. As a trio experience there is a lot of good things going with dynamics, voicing, etc, but as an extended jazz solo experience, it ain't got that much. I like the challenge the jazz musician has put before himself to carve out a musical statement or series of statements that have integrity. The best of these - the giants alive today- are Mulgrew Miller, Kenny Barron, to name a few. The giants of giants are Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea. Folks like Jacky Terrasson and Brad Mehldau are nowhere near this league. This album shows great talent, great music, good jazz, but if you really want the adult stuff check out someone like Mulgrew Miller. There is so much listening time.

Creative and innovative.......1999-06-10

I never heard anyone toy with the melodies of standards like he does. He is in love with the craft of muscial arrangement. The piano is his canvas of gentle brushstrokes. Highly introspective. His exchanges with Okegwo and Parker are empathic in the best possible sense.

Average customer rating:

Very Good Listening
The best of the younger generation of jazz pianists?

Smile
Jacky Terrasson
Manufacturer: Blue Note Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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A Paris...
Jacky Terrasson
Rendezvous
Alive
Into the Blue

ASIN: B00007GZNB
Release Date: 2003-01-07

Tracks:

Parisian Thoroughfare
Mo Better Blues
Smile
Sous le ciel de Paris
Isn't She Lovely?
The Dolphin
Nardis
Autumn Leaves
My Funny Valentine
59

Amazon.com

Pianist Jacky Terrasson is a French blend of Ahmad Jamal and Bud Powell, and this CD highlights his open-minded musical evolution. His band includes bassists Sean Smith and Remi Vignolo and drummer Eric Harland. Terrasson leads them through a well-rounded program that ranges from the immortal chanson "Sous le Ciel de Paris" and the title track by Charlie Chaplin, to the soulful "Mo' Better Blues" and the finger-busting "Parisian Thoroughfare." Terrasson likes to reinterpret well-known tunes using tricky time signatures, as you can hear especially in his slick drum and bass version of Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely." For Terrasson, popular songs are still great vehicles for jazz improvisation. --Eugene Holley Jr.

Customer Reviews:

Very Good Listening.......2004-02-17

Great tracks on this recording are "Smile," "The Dolphin," "Autumn Leaves," and "My Funny Valentine." At a recent Houston concert, Jacky's bass player and drummer arrived late, so we heard Jacky play solo for two sets. He was fabulous! The final set was comprised of selections from "Smile." You had to wish that the CD's title track, as nice as it is, had the same vibrancy and energy of the trio playing live. In concert, Jacky chases high lines that make the CD sound tame by comparison. But that's the studio vs. live. That's jazz.

The best of the younger generation of jazz pianists?.......2003-01-21

The contenders, in my estimation, are Craig Taborn, Matthew Shipp, Jean-Michel Pilc, Brad Melhdau, Jason Moran, and Marc Cary, with Jason Lindner, Ed Simon, Laurent de Wilde, Andrew Wonsey, Xavier Davis, David Berkman, and Aaron Goldberg not far behind. People like Marlyn Crispel, Myra Melford, Irene Schweizer, Geri Allen, Georg Graewe, Alex Maguire, John Wolf Brennan, Django Bates, and Misha Mengleberg, though brilliant, are not part of the younger generation, either by age or approach. Others, like Hector Martignon, Chris Parker, Alex Marcelo, and Huw Warren just haven't been heard enough to be able to make a judgment.

Of the prime candidates, Jacky Terrason probably has the biggest discography as leader (although Matthew Shipp may be close; I haven't heard all his stuff), and has also has probably played in the greatest diversity of settings. Combining an uncanny rhythmic sense, a touch which can be either delicate or percussive, depending on what's called for, a brilliant modern harmonic understanding, deep swing, glorious melodicism, and prodigious technique, he brings more to the table than any of the other contenders.

And Smile is his best recording to date. He seems to have found the perfect bandmates in Sean Smith on bass (himself a leader of note) and Eric Harland on drums. Perfectly attunded to their leader's ever-changing rhythmic and harmonic conception, they combine profound history of the music with catlike agility, always providing the near-perfect grounding for Terrason's exalted flights of fancy. Moreover, everything seems completely at ease--from the trickiest single note runs to the funkiest blooze statements. There's not a false note in the bunch.

I raved about Jean-Michel Pilc's astounding album, Welcome Home, and I'm not backing off from that review. But something even more spectacular is going on here: Smile contains all the virtuosity of Welcome Home, but it's a lot friendlier, a lot more accessible, and a lot more fun.

Tracks:

Plaisir D'Amour
Les Chemins De L'Amour
Jeux Interdits
A Paris
I Love Paris In The Springtime
Que Reste-t'il De Nos Amours?
Ne Me Quitte Pas
La Vie En Rose
Nantes
La Marseillaise
Rue Des Lombards
L'aigle Noir
I Love You More
Metro

Amazon.com

With A Paris, fleet-fingered pianist Jacky Terrasson delivers a soulful and sonic tribute to the City of Light and France. Backed by drummers Terreon Gully and Leon Parker, percussionist Minio Gara, Stefon Harris on marimba, and bassists Remi Vignolo and Ugonna Okegwo, Terrasson--who's worked with vocalists Betty Carter and Cassandra Wilson--reinterprets a number of classic French chansons into a diverse array of jazz idioms. His trio takes of "Plaisir d' Amour," and "Les Chemins de L'Amour" recall the gospel timbre of Abdullah Ibrahim and the delicate phrasings of Bill Evans. Alto/soprano saxophonist Stefano di Battista adds his snaky lines to the modal McCoy Tyner-tinged "Jeux Interdits" and to the North African nuances of "L'Aigle Noir." "La Vie en Rose" swings with an Afro-Caribbean beat, while "Ne Me Quitte Pas" and the title track are flavored by Gregoire Maret's Gallic harmonica and Gypsy guitarist Bireli Lagrene. Terrasson's heartfelt waltz rendition of the national anthem, "La Marseillaise," puts Bastille Day in a new jazzy light. --Eugene Holley, Jr.

Customer Reviews:

Oui, Oui !!!!.......2001-07-30

C'est spot on, as it were. As a matter of fact, C'est si bon. Having heard the Terrasson Trio in St. Gilles Croix de Villes this year, giving an exceptional performance featuring many of these chansons, I am bound to say Beautiful Music.

Beautiful, Crisp, and Cool.......2001-06-23

Jacky Terrasson shows off his creative and versatile talent with this album. Well known French classics from Jacques Brel, Edith Piaf and Django Reinhardt, among others, are reinterpreted with a modern crispness that is a breath of fresh air. Terrasson also includes his own new compositions on the mix for an elegant balance of new tunes that stretch your modern jazz preconceptions, and old tunes that are familiar but reinvigorated. I first heard "Que reste-t'il de nos amours?" on a compilation album and immediately put in my order for this one. I only wish I had heard it sooner. A great album for quiet evenings at home - light some candles, pour a glass of Bordeaux, have a slice of brie, close you eyes, and let Jacky take you for a walk along the cobblestone quais of the Seine.

Loved it.......2001-02-28

Having popped A Paris into my CD player a few days ago, I've been playing it regularly. This disk seems more focused than Terrasson's works in the past. He eschews the more dramatic flares that might have hung him up on occassion, and gets into a beautiful, lyrical space. The presence of his seminal trio with Leon Parker and Ugonna Okegwo on a couple of tunes is welcome, especially on the sparse and soulful opening tune Plaisir D'Amour. But his French cohorts ride very well too. He burns on the second cut, Jeux interdits, has a hilarious take on La Vie En Rose and gets positively cheesy on his Fender Rhodes on Que Reste-T-Il De Nos Amours. But the rule here is romance for the city of light, with little of the edginess one might associate with New York. It's about melody, simplicity, space, the blues, and an obvious love of place. What I found most remarkable was his ability to avoid the sentimental in tunes like Les Chemins De L'Amour which could easily careen in that direction. A keeper.

Average customer rating:

This is Fabulous!
Rhythm-less, slow, dull
A Neglected Gem
Female tenor with attitude.
MAGIC DUET

Rendezvous
Jacky Terrasson & Cassandra Wilson
Manufacturer: Blue Note Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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New Moon Daughter
Blue Light Til Dawn
Blue Skies
Sings Standards
A Paris...

ASIN: B000005H8Q
Release Date: 1997-09-23

Tracks:

Old Devil Moon
Chan's Song
Tennesee Waltz
Little Boy Lost
Autumn Leaves
It Might As Well Be Spring
My Ship
I Remember You
Tea For Two
If I Ever Would Leave You
Chicago 1987

Amazon.com essential recording

Throughout Cassandra Wilson's career, jazz critics have been presuming to tell her what to do. Instead, she maintains her own impressive balance among jazz standards, other popular songs, and originals, and among a "jazz" approach, a guitar-based country blues spareness, and art-pop inspired by one of her greatest influences, Joni Mitchell. Here she reminds us that she can bring tremendous freshness to standards. Star pianist Jacky Terrasson makes it almost easy for her. His standout contribution, though, is a tinkling, decidedly late-autumnal solo "Autumn Leaves." Bassist Lonnie Plaxico and percussionist Mino Cinelu contribute impressively on a trap-setless disc, on such numbers as a sad-soul "Tea for Two," and a slowed, bluesy rendition of "Tennessee Waltz." --Peter Monaghan

Customer Reviews:

This is Fabulous!.......2007-01-01

Cassandra Wilson's voice and phrasing are as interesting and lovely as ever. The surprise is the interplay between instrument and vocals - the subtle conversation between the players. These are great muscians making music together. Don't buy this if you want to swing - buy it if you are going to sit and listen to what they are saying. This is one of my favorite all time CDs. The instrumentation is gorgeous.

Rhythm-less, slow, dull.......2006-05-22

I have just been listening to this album in a shuffle play with songs by Sarah Vaughan, Karrin Allyson and Johnny Hartman. Cassandra Wilson's performances are so much duller, slower and less alive than the other three that I keep skipping to the end of her songs when they come on.

I am a tenor myself, and I find it strange that Wilson is singing in my range, but I would never sing these songs the way she sings them. They don't swing.

I bought this album originally because I liked another album (Reach) by Jacky Terrasson, but this one isn't worth listening to.

Do yourself a favor, listen to a Sarah Vaughan record, or listen to a different album by Jacky Terrasson.

A Neglected Gem.......2005-06-15

Have you ever had the experience where you've listened or read something and liked it, then put it down and didn't pick it up until years later, and then you really dug it?

I had that experience last year with Shirley Horn's 1992 "Here's to Life". And this year, I'm having that experience with 1997's "Rendezvous", a brilliant, creative work by the French pianist, Jacky Terrasson, and the world-class jazz singer, Cassandra Wilson.

This album is about standards, done in truly unique ways, generally in dreamscape-type of settings. "Old Devil Moon" is a sensual dreamscape; "It Might as Well Be Spring" is a pointillistic, jangly dreamscape (perfect for a "modern dance troupe"); "If Ever I Would Leave You" is a dream where time stands still; "Tea For Two" has a strange funky backbeat with a "c-a-b" riff played or implied throughout, and the song's intro sung as a coda; "I Remember You" is a swinging background with Ms. Wilson wrapping the melody in a completely different rhythm around the song's chord structure; and "Autumn Leaves" is other-worldly. Imagine fall foliage flittering down on the moon, and you have the idea.

Special note to Terrasson: besides being a terrific keyboardist, he wrote these arrangements, picking the perfect instrumentation throughout for the musical coloration. And perhaps because of that, Ms. Wilson's smoky, insinuating contralto fits each song like a glove.

This is not only a neglected gem generally, I think it's a neglected gem within the Cassandra Wilson catalogue. For me, other than "Blue Light 'Til Dawn", it's my favorite Cassandra Wilson album. Recommended--and if you're like me, you'll like it even more, eight years later. RC

Female tenor with attitude........2002-03-25

There's more jazz on this album than on "New Moon Daughter," but Wilson still favors a studied, theatrical approach to the music. Whereas on the former album she goes out of her way to select non-standard instrumentation and genres, on "Rendezvous" she's less eclectic but no less iconoclastic in her approach to the material. She's a striking presence, and she uses her tenor-baritone range to create an aura, a spell, a dramatic image.

The main lineage of jazz singers--Billie, Ella, Sarah, Carmen, Nancy, Etta Jones and Shirley Horn--all approach the song as the primary end, using their individual voices and musicianship to bring it to life. Cassandra's image-conscious approach will appeal to those listeners who see the song as a mere starting point, as a vehicle for the artist's manipulations. She executes her chosen repertory with undeniable flare, imagination, and style, but she's as much "performance artist" as jazz artist.

MAGIC DUET.......2001-09-26

This is one of the best standard's albums that you can find today. Cassandra Wilson gives us her point of view about classic songs like Tea for Two or Tennesse Waltz. The arragments by Jacky Terrason are perfect for Cassandra Wilson. For those who are getting bored about vocal jazz, will be happy to hear that some people are trying to do something different...This is another cassandra hit. BUY IT.

Average customer rating:

Mirror
Jacky Terrasson
Manufacturer: Blue Note Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000RRUS7G
Release Date: 2007-08-28

Tracks:

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

Average customer rating:

Rendezvous a Paris

Manufacturer: EMI Special Markets
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Product Description

Twelve tracks by different French artists. Part of the HearMusic - Sound of Starbucks collection.

Average customer rating:

superb
Meet the new Chick and Gary duo
do yourself a favor .......
one of the best jazz discs in years!
Great Album

Kindred
Stefon Harris , and Jacky Terrasson
Manufacturer: Blue Note Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Grand Unification Theory
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ASIN: B00005NU6C
Release Date: 2001-09-11

Tracks:

My Foolish Heart
Tank's Tune
Summertime
Deja
What Is This Thing Called Love
Titi Boom
John's Abbey
Never Let Me Go
Rat Entrance
Rat Race
Shane
Little Niles
Body & Soul

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

Stefon Harris is the best thing that could have happened to Jacky Terrasson, whose recent albums have suffered from post-phenom inertia. With his fleet, brimming attack on vibraphone and scalloped phrasing on marimba, Harris forces Terrasson to pick up his game at the piano. Kindred is full of sharp contrapuntal exchanges, bop-fueled runs and, on dramatically reworked versions of "Summertime" and "Body and Soul," harmonic adventure. Accompanied by bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Terreon Gully, the coleaders play leapfrog on a taut, time-shifting reading of Randy Weston's "Little Niles"--a perfect tune for Harris's boyish urgency. Their dashing take on Bud Powell's "John's Abbey" is equally good. Among the slower stuff, a melodically glowing but restrained reading of "Never Let Me Go" is especially affecting. Terrasson, who impetuously rode the influence of Ahmad Jamal early on, has been slow in developing his own voice, but with energized sessions like this, there's a good chance his progress will accelerate. --Lloyd Sachs

Customer Reviews:

superb.......2007-02-16

possibly one of the best duet recordings i've heard. harris and terrasson instead of soloing play what would be solos together. their combined playing merges beautifully.

definitely a cd worth having.

Meet the new Chick and Gary duo.......2003-11-26

As we have all learned, combining tremendous Jazz talent does not always result in a tremendous Jazz album. However, Jacky and Stefon have recorded a tremendous album with "Kindred."

As a previous reviewer mentioned, seeing these two live makes all the difference. With that in mind, I can only hope that Blue Note Will record a live album with this duo. And I can only hope that Blue Note won't screw it up as they have done with so many live recordings.

Right out of the blocks, "My Foolish Heart" reveals this duo's level of intensity and synergy which is carried throughout the album. Their interpretations of "John's Abbey," "Summertime" and "What Is This Thing.." are all great... along with some groovy originals.

Again, you must see these guys live (which would be very unlikely at this point) or on their own. Jacky seems to be at the Vanguard every few months and Stefon is all over. (Seeing Stefon make his transition from marimba to vibes at the speed of light is unreal.) Enjoy.

do yourself a favor ..............2003-05-17

To anyone who might be tempted by this one ..... Harris's BlackActionFigure and Terrasson's Rendezvous are two of my own favorites ..... but this is one of the worst recordings of any kind I've ever heard. An immense race to nowhere, and four people in a mad dash to get there first. Never mind the money, why would you spend your time on this? If you need to listen to something, take a walk in the woods. Anyone who thinks this is remotely similar to Keith Jarrett or Bobby Hutcherson has lost the capability to think or to feel. The drumming is so awful I thought surely it must be Nasheet Waits -- but on reflection, I have another recording of Terreon Gully -- two, actually -- which are just as bad. They shoot horses, don't they? Talk about pearls before swine!
This raises interesting questions, like ..... why? What happened? How could two gifted and privileged musicians have sunk so low? Why didn't they put someone else's names on this? (Herman Blount and Saddam Hussein?) What sort of culture is capable of this? Is the whole thing just a cynical joke? And what is the role of consumers in this sad affair? Where is the higher ground?

one of the best jazz discs in years!.......2001-12-21

the partnering of mr. harris and mr. terrasson brings back memories of blue note blowing sessions from the classic years of the 50s and 60s! these two artists are two of the more brillinat players of their generation who on their own are challenging, swinging, and fiery. together, they compliment one another's styles and create moments of musical dialog that are breathtaking. for me it is as if keith jarrett and bobby hutcherson have come together in their prime--but definitely in the unique voices of harris and terrasson. to illustrate, simply listen to "tank's tune" or "summertime". the former is an original that burns from start to finish full of surprises and twists that rivet your attention. the latter is a time-worn standard, but here sounds as fresh and as fun as when gershwin first wrote it. the rest of the album follows suit leaving the listener ready to hit the repeat button again and again. enjoy!

Great Album.......2001-12-13

Saw their performance at a small venue in Santa Cruz. One of the best live jazz performance! Two talents musician with their hearts.

Tracks:

Voliere
Pavane
Bolero
Apres In Reve
Printemps
Ete
Automne
Hiver
Jimbo's Lullaby
Marche A La Turque
Pays Lointain
Moto Perpetuo
Vol Du Bourdon
Veloce

Customer Reviews:

This has no business working . . ........2003-07-04

. . . yet it does, and brilliantly.

It could only happen with players of a special sensibility, ones who thoroughly understand both jazz and classical music, and ones with the chutzpah to attempt and pull off the impossible.

The problem with projects like this is that they tend to be neither fish nor fowl. Instead, what you often get is some grotesque hybrid. Not here.

Apparently, a lot of thought, on the part of both the principles, Jacky Terrasson on piano and Emmanuel Pahud on flute, went into this project. The basic problem is how to make classical music swing without so destroying its native sensibility as to render it incomprehensible or irrelevant. To their great credit, I believe Terrasson and Pahud have solved this problem. How? By embuing classical music with genuine jazz sensibilities.

What this requires, essentially, is a complete make-over. Each classical tune must be subjected to a rigorous process, one in which its core musical virtues are examined to see if they can be transposed into an authentic jazz mode. In reality, this isn't all that different from what, e.g., Egberto Gismonte did with northern Brazil folk music on Sanfona: entirely digest the aesthetic, contemplate it mightly, and come up with a way to fuse it with jazz, all the while retaining its inherent genius but shifting it into a different key.

And that's what Terrasson and Pahud do here, with equally astonishing results. Really, this had all the earmarks of a real clunker. But the genius of this team somehow figured out how to avoid all the pitfalls.

The real test for me came not on the Revel, Faure, Debussy, and Saint-Saens pieces but on Vivaldi's Four Seasons. After all, there is probably a natural bridge between high French romantic classical music and jazz, but what about Italian Baroque? What we're talking about here is a process probably not dissimilar to adapting books to the silver screen. If one takes a slavishly literalistic approach, as, e.g., Dune, the results flop, dismally. If one retains the heart but suitably adapts the forms, as with, e.g., Tess or Cry the Beloved Country or The Year of Living Dangerously or The Lord of the Rings, the results can be spectacular. The idea isn't to reproduce the book on the screen. Rather, it's to evoke the deepest sensibilities of the book, transforming and transposing it where necessary, all the while remaining doggedly faithful to its essential insights.

And that'w what's been done here. The key with Vivaldi's Four Seasons is that it's kept short and sweet. Indeed, each of the four movements comes in under two minutes. The pieces more naturally attuned to a jazz vibe, such as Ravel's "Pavane" and "Bolero," get lengthier treatment.

There's also a good bit of humor here. Who would've thought of Debussy's "Jimbo's Lullaby" as a reggae tune? But it works perfectly, naturally, even magically. Or Mozart's "Marche a la turque" as a tango? But again, it's perfect. And how could you possibly redeem a flogged-to-death tune like Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee"? Once again, by simply stating the famous them, deftly tweaked by the brilliant rhythm section, and getting out.

OK. Enough of the highbrow analysis. I just absolutely LOVE this disc and am in total awe of Jacky Terrasson. He's my hero. He's almost singlehandedly rescuing jazz from a bunch of dead ends and applying his monster talent to lead it in profitably new directions. I don't even like jazz flute. I certainly wouldn't have acquired this mondo weirdo disc except for my faith in him. A faith that has been completely, absolutely justified. No matter who you are--alienated teen who gets off on Godspeed You! Black Emperor; classical fuddy-duddy arguing over who does the best Mahler Sixth; new music fan who digs Nono and Xenakis; jazz avant-gardist into William Hooker and John Butcher--I think you'll dig this brilliant coming together of jazz and classical music.

Or, maybe not. But I don't think so.

Meet Your Guardian Angel
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Meet Your Guardian Angel
Jacky Newcomb
Manufacturer: Paradise Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | New Age | Styles | Music
Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CCBPSM
Release Date: 2005-11-16

Product Description

'Have you ever wanted to make contact with your guardian angels? Our spiritual guides and celestial guardians are closer than you might think, and it is surprisingly easy to bring this spiritual realm within easy reach. By following this guided meditation CD I have prepared for you, you will find your journey to meet with your angel a little easier. I use this meditation in my workshops and many people have powerful experiences when following along.' Jacky Newcomb

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