EMOTIONAL CONCOCTIONS
Jennifer Terran Debuts Cruel at Soho So you start walking down a street where you can hear your shoes clicking on the sidewalk. Down this street, from an open window above your head you hear the sound of someone practicing the cello, while across the street there's the sound of a couple making love. You pass a park and the trees shiver in the warm wind. Somewhere you can hear people laughing. A cab careens around the corner, and for a moment you think it might hit you. You realize that all of this going on around you, all of this seemingly disconnected stimulus is actually part of a cacophonous symmetry, a symphony of soft conspiracy, one that your deepest, most inaccessible emotions choose to listen to. This is an avenue of introduction to the music of Jennifer Terran. It is a musical expression that draws attention to the fact that each of our emotions have different sets of ears; what makes emotion work is that it listens to that which it is confronted with, making decisions based on what it has heard.

Cruel is the latest release by Jennifer Terran, a project she has been committed to for the past year and a half. The album visits five primary recording sites, including the infamous house on Montgomery Street; it brings together an array of musical talents, such as 'Transylvania Mountain Boys' bassist and recording artist Brendan Statom, violinist Sally Barr, and Jennifer's father, Tony Terran, an L.A. studio pro on trumpet. The album was brilliantly co-produced by Terran and Julie Last, whose musical rap sheet includes work on Joni Mitchell's 'Turbulent Indigo' and Ricki Lee Jone's 'Traffic from Paradise'. The production is an immaculate study in subtlety, rage, and grace, exploring all the possibilities of Jennifer's voice, mapping the emotional content of the songs, and elucidating the soft dynamics inherent in Jennifer's music. The album successfully captures the absolute originality of Jennifer Terran.

Cruel emerges not only as an intimate portrait of one woman, but also as a history of human expression, both above and below the surface. The events any one of us encounters in life, how we feel about those events, and how we express them to those around us. In the song "ynot," the plaintive chorus climbs toward you with a beautifully layered harmony, with soft wonder in the foreground and en eminent call for resolution in the background. The result is an accurate depiction of the duality we often experience when confronting an emotional situation; what we think, and what we are able to say to someone.

Like looking back at '80's fashion
like observing insects in their heat of passion
it's ridiculous and strange
is it how my love for you will seem
once time has me change

Jennifer's lyrical contents reflect a mature vision of the world coupled with the untainted wisdom of a child and the wonder with which the child views experience. In "Fat," the lyrics offer a seemingly spare impression that begins to musically gain in size until it begins to image the beautiful power of love detonated. The song is an instant classic, giving one over to the idea that words are sometimes mere caps covering massive jars of meaning.

Cruel is also laced with Terran's incisive sense of humor. "Canned Food" talks about the sense of hygienic security one can get from food protected by a little tin home. "Kitty, I Can't Stand It!" has Jennifer loving her cat to death. "Write a Song" is a wonderful tune about an artist objectively looking at themselves and what they do.

Jennifer Terran's musical ability seems virtually limitless. Her catalogue of tone, chords, and range make each song a completely different experience. Her soft touch on the piano seems to be an extension of her voice; she makes the piano human- even in non-vocal passages, you seem to understand completely what the instrument is saying. No two verses are the same; the songs are reduced to a naturalistic ideal whereby the song literally grows before your ears. There is a quality to her music that is like that of artists such as Tori Amos and Jane Siberry, but there is no mistaking Jennifer's individuality within this genre. She expresses a reckless beauty, a huge palette of production techniques, and an absolute dedication to her themes, which are staggeringly different in their execution.

On Sunday, November 24, at Soho, Jennifer Terran will be officially unveiling Cruel for all to see and hear. The show starts at 7 p.m. An array of musical talent will be on hand, including Brendan Statom on bass, Tony Terran on trumpet, vocalist Ellen Turner, and more. Jennifer's unique artistry will make this a rare opportunity, one that you would completely regret missing. Soho will literally be transformed into music. You will be moved, you will laugh, and you will be reduced to that room within all of us, the one where the curtains don't get pulled back often enough, shedding light on a wondrous interior. A room where our deepest feelings sit in reflection. I'll see you there.

By Mark Fahey
Santa Barbara Independent