On a recent visit to Paris what was on mind was not a trip to Champs-Élysées, I was not looking forward to a visit to the Eiffel Tower as much as I was anticipating a night out in one of the city’s numerous jazz bars.

While I did not know any specific one, I knew there was certainly a few of them good enough to supply the thrill needed for my short stay in the city. My biggest worry was if I will not end up in a highly recommended jazz bar that will have no major act billed to perform during my stay. Fingers crossed, I arrived and hatched a plan.

Not long after I checked into my room and dropped my bag, I was back at the reception requesting the very helpful front desk staff – I asked them for a short list of the best jazz venues in Paris. I asked them to disregard distance or even cost. I also asked them to take their time and consult far and wide as I will pick up the list in the next three hours (it was barely noon).

Late in the afternoon, I got a short list of three spots which they assured me were the very best. Randomly I chose Le Duc des Lombards and headed there. Arriving there, I saw a queue at the door and congratulated myself on the choice as I thought that if there was a queue to get in, it must be a good spot. Checked the fliers and confirmed that the star of the night was Ignasi Terraza Trio. I knew little about Ignasi, but the bit I knew reassured me that I was in for a treat.

What first struck me was that he is a polyglot. I found that fascinating, especially as I am horrible with languages. It was a thrill seeing him switch from one Spanish to French and back to English effortlessly as he made his introductions and during interludes in their performance. With that out of the way, his band took us on 90 mins of beautiful music. It was Ignasi on piano, Pierre Boussaguat on double bass and Esteve Pi on drums. They played tracks mostly off his most recent album.

The sync between Ignassi and his bandmates was obvious, and you could tell they had been playing together for a very long time. It was a very good set and shortly after he exited the stage with loads of applause, the After Hours – a free jazz gig performed by lesser-known but equally talented acts took reign, and I was on the verge of an overdose of good music. It was almost midnight when I took my leave. Le Duc des Lombards and Ignasia Terraza had combined to make my short stay in the city of love truly memorable.

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