Christian Jacob

Growing up in France, Christian followed the child prodigy route through the classically rigorous Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique. But it was only when he arrived at the Berklee College in Boston that he discovered that he could knock folks out as a jazz player as well. In fact, Berklee admired him so much they gave him an armful of awards and kept him on as a teacher, instructing future luminaries such as Danilo Perez.

He was soon touring with one of his Berklee mentors, Gary Burton, and then music directing Maynard Ferguson’s big band through the ’90s. That’s when he met vocalist Tierney Sutton and musical lightning struck. With compatriots Trey Henry (bass) and Ray Brinker (drums), the two created a strong ensemble that continues to be fertile fields for their experimentation. Christian feels he’s found a creative home with Tierney and their music proves their creative symbiosis.

In one duet, he and Miss Sutton reinvent the amiable Rogers and Hammerstein standard “Happy Talk” at a caffeinated tempo. Check it out on Tierney Sutton’s On The Other Side (Telarc) to hear what can happen when two artists completely trust their intuition.

Recently, Christian has been exploring the art of the trio with the aforementioned rhythm section on his two new WilderJazz CDs: Contradictions, devoted to the re-imagined songs of late piano great Michel Petrucianni, and Styne & Mine, which pays homage to songwriter Jule Styne. At www. wilderjazz.com or iTunes, audition the song “Time After Time” and you’ll hear Christian double the bass melody in his left hand, while he effortlessly supports the groove with an intricate montuno in his right. This kind of elegant pianism flashes throughout his playing and reveals his orchestrational tendencies as well.

And if you’re wondering about the King of Thailand gig, here’s the scoop. The Swiss government hired Christian and a colleague to write an orchestral piece as a birthday present for the king. This led to an all-night jam session with His Majesty (on trumpet and alto) in the Summer Palace on an island in the Andaman Sea. And the king totally rocked. Which makes sense, because he was being accompanied by the masterful Christian Jacob.