"A few years ago, I entered the Jacksonville International Jazz Piano Competition. The truth is, I sent my demo without really knowing what to expect. The thing is, I won that competition and ended up playing there. And, even more curious, while top American jazz musicians were performing for free on the streets of that city, the only paid concert was mine!" The pianist and composer Ignasi Terraza smiles at the bar, as he recalls this among a thousand anecdotes after having taken his musical talent all over the world, to the most unexpected corners. Outside, night falls.
"I've been around a lot," he explains while enjoying a sparkling water "with lemon, but no ice," and in the background, Oscar Peterson's fingers flow over the keys, softly expressing the aromas of the traditional American songbook. "I have performed throughout Europe, the United States, South Africa, Morocco, China, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, Korea, Thailand, Albania, and Mongolia, among others."
---Mongolia? Seriously??
The musician laughs. "Yes, Ulan Bator is another world. There I played at the Opera and Ballet Theater and my name was announced in large letters at the entrance. It looked like one of those big movie premieres from the 40s!" he recalls. However, perhaps what he is most proud of is having performed twice at the Lincoln Center in New York, "in 2014 with the Big Band Barcelona Jazz Orquesta, along with vibraphonist Oriol Bordas, and four years later with Andrea Motis"; and four times at the Blue Note in Tokyo, also with Motis.
"I am satisfied to see how, over the years, my career has left a trail in the form of albums, encounters, works, initiatives... music is a long-distance race, not a sprint," reflects this Barcelona native, born in '62, who, in addition to making music, also publishes it through Swit Records, the label he and his wife, Miriam Guardiola, run and which "in its 20 years of existence has accumulated nearly forty releases, including my own albums and those of others."
Music prevailed in Getxo
Blind since the age of 9, Ignasi Terraza began "studying piano with Mrs. Loras, who was the wife of Lluís Millet, the director of the Orfeó Català, and the room where we had classes overlooked the stage of the Palau de la Música." He studied classical piano at the Barcelona Conservatory, although he was immediately abducted by jazz and its infinite possibilities. In parallel, he also enrolled at the UPC and became the first blind computer science graduate in Spain.
The UPC will invest him Doctor Honoris Causa both for his musical career and for being the first blind computer science graduate in SpainHe started playing in various clubs at 18, simultaneously pursuing his facet as a musician with his work as a computer scientist.But, in 1991, music took the cake. "With the quartet we had with guitarist David Mitchell, we won a competition at the festival ofjazzfrom Getxo, and with that I released my first album. From then on, I needed all my time to dedicate myself to music."
A time that the pianist has made very good use of, treasuring more than 50 albums between those recorded as a leader and as a sideman and collaborations with musicians of all kinds: Bert Van Den Brink, Luigi Grasso, Scott Hamilton, Ulf Wakenius, Antonio Serrano, Joan Chamorro, Josep Maria Farràs, Sarah Dowling, Laura Simó, Randy Greer, Jesse Davis, Perico Sambeat or giants like Stacy Kent, Nicholas Peyton or (big words here) Lou Donaldson. On his agenda, an endless number of projects with diverse artists and repertoires: from Porter to jazz with flamenco flavors.
As a way of closing the circle, "on March 21, the UPC will invest me Doctor Honoris Causa both for my musical career and for being the first blind graduate in Computer Science in the history of this country," Ignasi announces with undisguised enthusiasm.
As long as there are musicians, there will be music
"Barcelona has many musicians, but it lacks spaces. The tourism boom has not translated into a cultural boom, and restrictive regulations and the difficulty in obtaining licenses have generated many problems. This city could be more alive with some drive and freedom of musical creation but, however difficult everything may be, as long as there are musicians, there will be music," reasons the pianist who, at this point, decides to accompany the conversation and the sparkling water with some portions.
---Heard, kitchen.
"I have a strong connection with the Gothic Quarter ---he continues---, I have lived it deeply: as a child in the Palau de la Música, then as a young man with my friends in clubs like the Jamboree or the Harlem, and later because my daughters studied at the Sant Felip Neri school." He likes the city and walks and lives and breathes it, "despite the works that go on forever and accessibility problems like the single platforms, which for people who cannot see are a problem because they do not clearly delimit where pedestrians pass and where vehicles pass. And now, with electric cars that are so silent and you don't hear them coming, our safety depends exclusively on the driver's attention. That shouldn't be the case."
A few seconds pass during which Ignasi Terraza finishes his portions and his sparkling water and lets himself be captivated by Oscar Peterson's interpretation of Have you met Ms. Jones.
---After the frugal dinner, do you want something for dessert?
The musician smiles again: "Of course! I always like to finish with something sweet."