Martial Solal (born August 23, 1927) is a French jazz pianist and composer.

Biography

Solal was born in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, French Algeria, to

Algerian Jewish The History of the Jews in Algeria refers to the history of the Jewish community of Algeria, which dates to the 1st century CE. In the 15th century, many Spanish Jews fled to the Maghreb, including today's Algeria, following expulsion from Spai ...

parents. He was persuaded to study clarinet, saxophone, and piano by his mother, who was an opera singer. He was expelled from school in 1942 because of his parents' Jewish ancestry. Algeria was a French colony, and the

Vichy regime Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

in France was following Nazi policies. Solal educated himself after having studied classical music in school. He imitated music he heard on the radio. When he was 15, he performed publicly for United States Army audiences. After settling in Paris in 1950, he began working with

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...

and U.S. expatriates such as

Sidney Bechet Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Armstrong. His erratic temp ...

and

Don Byas Carlos Wesley "Don" Byas (October 21, 1912 – August 24, 1972) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, associated with swing and bebop. He played with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Blakey, and Dizzy Gillespie, among others, and also led ...

. He formed a quartet (occasionally also leading a big band) in the late 1950s, although he had been recording as a leader since 1953. Solal then began composing film music, eventually providing over 20 scores. He composed music for

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran� ...

's debut feature film '' Breathless'' (''À bout de souffle'', 1960). In 1963, he made an appearance at the

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...

in Rhode Island; the ''Newport '63'' album purporting to be a recording of this gig is actually a studio recreation with overdubbed applause, as documented in the sleeve notes of some later reissues. At this time, his trio included bassist Guy Pedersen and drummer

Daniel Humair Daniel Humair (born 23 May 1938 in Geneva, Switzerland) is a Swiss drummer, composer, and painter. He is widely renowned and became a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1986 and Officier in 1992. He has played with many jazz p ...

. From 1968, he performed and recorded with

Lee Konitz Leon Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American composer and alto saxophonist. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's association with the cool jazz ...

in Europe and the U.S. In its January 2011 issue, ''The Gruppen Review'' published a 12-page interview in which Solal discusses his work as an eternal "researcher in jazz".

Style

Martial Solal (1988) by Erling Mandelmann

His jazz approach was once described by

Jean-Pierre Thiollet Jean-Pierre Thiollet (; born 9 December 1956) is a French writer and journalist. Primarily living in Paris, he is the author of numerous books and one of the national leaders of the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CEDI), a ...

as "brilliant, unique and intellectual" He has said of his technique: "You have to make people believe that it's very easy, even when it's very difficult. If you look to have trouble with the technique, it is no good. You must play the most difficult thing like this."(Martial Solal interviewed by Larry Appelbaum just before his concert at the Library of Congress, April 11, 2011).

Discography

Leader

* 1954 ''French Modern Sounds'' (Swing/

Disques Vogue Disques Vogue was a jazz record company founded in France by Léon Cabat and Charles Delaunay in 1947, the year after the American Vogue label ceased. They originally specialized in jazz, featuring American performers such as Sidney Bechet, D ...

) * 1954 ''Martial Solal Trio'' (Disques Vogue) * 1959 ' ( Columbia) * 1961 ''Martial Solal'' (Vogue) * 1962 ''The Martial Solal Trio in Concert'' (Columbia MI * 1962 ' (Columbia); US release as ''In Concert''/''Trio in Concert'' (

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

, 1963) * 1962 ' (Pathé-Marconi) * 1963 ' (RCA) * 1964 ' (Columbia) * 1965 ''Martial Solal Trio'' (Columbia) * 1965 ''Son 66'' (Columbia) * 1970 ''Locomotion'' (with Henry Texier and Bernard Lubat) * 1970 ' (RCA Victor) * 1975 ''7 + 4 = X'' (PDU) * 1975 ''Nothing but Piano'' ( MPS) * 1978 ''Suite for Trio'' (Universal) * 1981 ''Big Band'' (Universal) * 1983 '' Bluesine'' (

Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

) * 1984 ''Big Band'' (BMG/Dreyfus) * 1984 ''Plays Hodeir'' (OMDCD) * 1991 ''Triptyque'' ( Adda) * 1991 ''Duo in Paris'' (BMG/Dreyfus) * 1995 ' (JMS) * 1996 ''Difficult Blues'' (John Marks Records) * 1997 ' ( Dreyfus) * 1998 ''Silent Cinema – Cinema Muet'' (Gorgone) * 1998 ''Martial Solal, Vol. 2'' (Vogue) * 1999 ' (Soul Note) * 1999 ''En Solo'' (

Fresh Sound Fresh Sound, or Fresh Sound New Talent, is a jazz record label established in Barcelona, Spain, by Jordi Pujol. The label was initially founded as a reissue label. The catalog includes work by musicians both major and minor that was recorded be ...

) * 1999 ' ( Storyville) * 2000 ' (Dreyfus) * 2003 ' (

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

) * 2007 ' (Nocturne) * 2007 ' (CAM Jazz) * 2008 ' (CAM Jazz) * 2009 ' (CAM Jazz) * 2015 ' (

Grand Piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

) * 2018 ' (JMS) * 2018 ' (Intuition Records) * 2021 ' (Challenge records)

Co-leader

* 1957 ''When a Soprano Meets a Piano'' with

Sydney Bechet Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Armstrong. His erratic tempe ...

(

Inner City The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

) * 1968 '' European Episode'' with

(Campi) * 1968 '' Impressive Rome'' with Lee Konitz (Campi) * 1968 '' (Ducretet Thomson) * 1976 ' with

Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (, 27 May 1946 – 19 April 2005), also known by his abbreviated nickname NHØP, was a Danish jazz double bassist. Biography Pedersen was born in Osted, near Roskilde, on the Danish island of Zealand, the son of ...

(MPS) * 1977 ''

Duplicity Duplicity may refer to: * ''Duplicity'' (play), a 1781 comedy by Thomas Holcroft * ''Duplicity'' (Silent Descent album), 2000 * ''Duplicity'' (Lee Konitz and Martial Solal album), 1978 * ''Duplicity'' (film), a 2009 comedy thriller starring Cliv ...

'' with Lee Konitz ( Horo) * 1979 '' Four Keys'' (MPS) * 1980 '' Live at the Berlin Jazz Days 1980'' with Lee Konitz (MPS) * 1980 ' with

Stéphane Grappelli Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997, born Stefano Grappelli) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the firs ...

( Sunnyside) * 1983 ''

Star Eyes, Hamburg 1983 ''Star Eyes, Hamburg 1983'' is a live album by saxophonist Lee Konitz and pianist Martial Solal which was recorded in Germany in 1983 by Norddeutscher Rundfunk and released on the HatOLOGY label in 1998. Critical reception The Allmusic review s ...

'' with Lee Konitz (

HatOLOGY Hathut Records is a Swiss record company and label founded by Werner Xavier Uehlinger in 1974 that specializes in jazz and classical music. The name of the label comes from the artwork of Klaus Baumgartner. Hathut encompasses the labels hat ART, ...

) * 1988 ' (Label Bleu) * 1992 ''Martial Solal &

Toots Thielemans Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (29 April 1922 – 22 August 2016), known professionally as Toots Thielemans, was a Belgian jazz musician. He was mostly known for his chromatic harmonica playing, as well as his guitar and whistl ...

'' (

Erato In Greek mythology, Erato (; grc, Ἐρατώ) is one of the Greek Muses, which were inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. The name would mean "desired" or "lovely", if derived from the same root as Eros, as Apollonius o ...

) * 1999 ' with

Michel Portal Michel Portal (born 27 November 1935) is a French composer, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He plays both jazz and classical music and is considered to be "one of the architects of modern European jazz". Early life Portal was born in Bayonne on ...

(BMG France) * 2000 ' with

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

(Dreyfus) * 2000 ' with Éric Le Lann (Nocturne, H&L) * 2006 ' with Dave Douglas (

CAM Jazz CAM Jazz is an Italian jazz record label founded in 2000. It is part of group that also manages the labels CAM Jazz Presents, Black Saint/Soul Note, and DDQ (Dischi Della Quercia). The label's musicians have received several Grammy Award nominatio ...

) * 2017 ', with

Dave Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received a N ...

(Sunnyside) * 2020 ', with

(Sunnyside)

Sideman

* 1974 ''

Jazz à Juan Jazz à Juan is an annual jazz festival in Juan-les-Pins, Antibes, France. New Orleans, Louisiana, widely recognized as the "Birthplace of Jazz," is a sister city, and as a result, carnival festivities in Juan-les-Pins, including both local and N ...

'' (

SteepleChase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

) * 2005 ''Comptines Pour Enfants Seulement'' (Doumtak)

References

External links

A Portrait of Martial Solal
Verbunkos. Retrieved February 9, 2013 * * Martial Solal unreleased recordings, including Robert Kaddouch
Gruppen review
* Martial Solal recording at Murecstudio Mila

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solal, Martial 1927 births Living people French film score composers French male film score composers French jazz pianists French male pianists Algerian Jews Pausa Records artists Musicians from Algiers Bebop pianists Post-bop pianists 21st-century pianists 21st-century French male musicians French male jazz musicians 21st-century Algerian people