Pianist Terrasson Prefers Intimate Club Scene

Gifted with talent and vision, pianist Jacky Terrasson is definitely a young man on the way up.

Terrasson has followed his uneven though spirited eponymously titled Blue Note album with the just-released “Reach,” a trio recording that’s getting lots of positive response.

“Reach,” on which Terrasson alluringly plays standards such as “I Should Care” and originals like “Baby Plum,” was recorded by engineer Marc Levinson in his Manhattan home studio, using his Cello-brand Sound System.

“It was done in an empty room [except for the instruments] with white walls, white carpet and sound-proofed windows, using only two overhead mikes,” Terrasson says. “I wanted the music captured as it was, with no separation between musicians. It felt very natural, like we were playing in a place that we liked. The sound is very pure.”

Terrasson says there’s a good chance he can offer a sound similar to that on his album when he leads his trio--bassist Ugonna Okegwo and drummer Marcello Pelletteri--Tuesday through April 14 at Catalina Bar & Grill. “I like the room because of the piano, which is very good, and the acoustics,” says Terrasson, who played Catalina’s last May. “I feel I have a lot of control over dynamics.”

Winner of the 1993 Thelonious Monk Competition, 30-year-old Terrasson says he favors clubs in general over concert halls. “In a club, you get more of a chance to experiment,” he says. “You can really stretch, have more playing time and create a little rapport with the people.”

Above everything else, Terrasson is striving to develop a voice as an artist. “I want to play phrases that go straight from my brain to my fingers, play what I am hearing, develop my own vocabulary,” he says. Information: (213) 466-2210.

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Jazz News: Pianist Shelly Berg, known for his work with trombonist Bill Watrous, has been elected president of the International Assn. of Jazz Educators. Berg, who has a master’s degree in piano and composition from the University of Houston and who is a professor in the Jazz Studies department at USC, takes his new post in July.

“There should be some changes in jazz education,” says Berg, whose debut album, “The Joy” (DMP), has just been released. “So much emphasis has been about big-band performance, and due to that, we’ve seen a decline in individuality of artists. We need to focus on smaller groups, as we do at USC and at CalArts, which helps educate musicians as artists.”

Berg can be heard in an album release party at the Jazz Bakery, (310) 271-9039, on May 9.

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Trumpet Talk: “Wynton Marsalis: The South Bank Show,” which airs Monday at 7 p.m. on the Bravo cable channel, is a splendid hourlong documentary on the trumpeter. Including interviews and performances, the program depicts Marsalis in New York and his native New Orleans, and includes pieces by Thelonious Monk, Jelly Roll Morton and Marsalis.

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Short Takes: Tickets for the 18th annual Playboy Jazz Festival, June 15-16 at the Hollywood Bowl, are now on sale at Ticketmaster outlets. Information: (213) 480-3232. . . .

The location of KLON’s “Blowin’ Up a Storm” big-band celebration, May 23-26, has been moved to the Sheraton Long Beach hotel from the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza in Redondo Beach. Information: (310) 436-3000.

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Around Town: Performances by Gerald Wilson’s orchestra, singer Sandy Graham and an all-star multi-high school jazz orchestra highlight the International Assn. of Jazz Appreciation annual Frontiers of Jazz Music Awards. The event, scheduled for Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Luckman Performing Arts Complex at Cal State L.A., honors saxophonist Eddie Harris and bassist Jimmy Clark. Proceeds benefit the association’s “Jazz Goes to School” program. Information: (213) 971-1842. . . .

Bebop-based pianist John Mayer’s trio plays tonight and Saturday at Cafe Du Monde in Santa Monica, (310) 396-7717. On Saturday, the band will become a quartet with the addition of the fine alto player Lanny Morgan. . . .

Invigorating East Coast pianist Larry Willis makes a quick trip to our climes on Wednesday and Thursday, playing at the Jazz Bakery.