Extravagantly gifted French-American pianist Jacky Terrasson begins this latest album quite pensively in the introduction to smoochy classic 'Besame Mucho'. And you get further subtle scene setting in the beautifully expansive introduction to his composition written with singer Camille Bertault who joins him on the track 'Est-ce que tu me suis?' ('Are You Following Me?') when it becomes much more complex. But the album really blossoms on the title track 'Moving On' which proves very feelgood. There's a sense of huge motion here driven by drummer Eric Harland. Raised in Paris, Terrasson, who is 58, moved to New York in the early 1990s but these days he's back in France. Mwandishi great Billy Hart is the drummer Terrasson plays with on 'Misty, NYC Take'. The bassist on a good many of the tracks on Moving On is Kenny Davis who contributed heavily to Carmen Lundy's fine 2019 album Modern Ancestors.

A track such as Moving On's 'R&B' makes us think of the wonderful perkiness of Vince Guaraldi. And just like the beloved Guaraldi sound Terrasson's approach is incredibly likeable. But we can take or leave a cover of Pharrell Williams' ubiquitous 'Happy' - and yet there is a redeeming twist in the instrumentation and shape of the arrangement that makes it far more bearable given the presence of some choice harmonica lines by Grégoire Maret whose new Ennio tracks with Romain Collin we have playlisted and warmed to a great deal in recent weeks.

Terrasson has always had star written all over him and Moving On does not disappoint. It's great to hear him again as it has been ages since we have listened to anything of his. Moving On is so much better than Take This and is up there with the earlier Gouache. Terrasson is so back to something like peak form and sounding a lot happier. Drummers Lukmil Pérez and Alvester Garnett also feature on the brand new album as do bassist Sylvain Romano and singer Kareen Guiock-Thuram.

Jacky Terrasson returns to the UK for dates this summer and two nights in the north-west of England at Band on the Wall, Manchester from 18-19 July. Photo: Alexandre Lacombe