Born in Barcelona in 1962, Ignasi Terraza didn’t become interested in music until he lost his sight when he was almost ten, and it wasn’t long before he felt particularly attracted to jazz – musical studies, a handful of not-too-bad records and a family piano did the rest.
In 1980 he made his first public appearances as a professional. Once he had got his degree in Computer Engineering and after being working simultaneously in both fields for almost three years he decided to dedicate himself entirely to jazz.
From that moment on, he’s been part of several groups of every different kind of formation, both as member and leader and, it has to be said, they all shared a hallmark in swing. His knowledge of the jazz idiom and his sense of both rhythm and harmony progressively increased demand for him to accompany or play with a wide range of local and international figures, such as vocalists Charmin Michelle, Randy Greer, Michelle McCain, Lavelle or Stacey Kent, and jazz players like Frank Wess, Jesse Davis, Gene “Mighty Flea†Conners, Teddy Edwars, Ralph Lalama or Brad Lealy. His regular and casual trios have included bassists Pierre Boussaguet, Mario Rossy, Javier Colina, Jules Bekoko and Horacio Fumero, among others, and Gregory Hutchinson, Walter Perkins, Bobby Durham, Peer Wyboris, Jo Krause or Julian Vaughn on drums.
Two especially significant associations in his musical career are worth a mention. The first – for two different stints (1985-1988 and 1996-2000) – was with vibraphonist and drummer Oriol Bordas, playing in trio/quartet formations under Ignasi Terraza Trio, Hot-Swing and Four Kats names, and big band, the Barcelona Jazz Orchestra. As partners they even set up a local jazz label called SWINGFÒNIC, which closed down after O. Bordas’ departure in 2000. The second was with US guitarist David Mitchell for three consecutive years (1990-1993), with whom he co-led the Mitchell-Terraza Quartet, group that besides recording two albums won a “best new group†award in the 1991 Festival Internacional de Jazz de Guetxo.
From 2001 on, Ignasi Terraza has been regularly playing in his home town as a solo act, with his trio and other formations, as well as touring across Spain, Portugal, France and Switzerland.
In 2003 he has recorded two albums and has started teaching jazz piano at the Higher School of Music of Catalonia – Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya -.
AWARDS
• Best “new group†award in the 1991 Festival Internacional de Jazz de Guetxo as the MITCHELL TERRAZA QUARTET.
• Best Catalan Jazz Record of 1996 for Miaow!, by FOUR KATS.
• Recognition of his whole jazz career by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
