Customer Reviews

What It Is

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

What I like so much about this effort is how Jacky's edge and exploration still stand out with the bigger line-up. His piano and arranging have the authority to take new influences and really make them fly. I never wanted to hear another Bolero again...until I heard his. But it's his work on keys, with some unexpectedly fine electric piano here, that always pleases. Impatient and brilliant, complex yet highly listenable, he's the real thing. Homogenized playlists at "world" music radio stations could use an injection of what he's done on this disc to wake up the ears they're wearing out through repetition.

I think this is a great album. I give Jacky kudos for breathing new life into his work. If you've seen Jacky perform in concert, you'll understand perfectly what he's trying to achieve with this latest album. With this new album, he's not afraid to go out on the limb and try new sounds. He's already proven that he's an accomplished pianist with his previous albums. It's refreshing to see him try something new, and on top of that, excel at it. BTW - I think he does a great rendition of Ravel's Bolero.

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.

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.