Martial Solal (23 August 1927 – 12 December 2024) was a French jazz pianist and composer.

Life and career

Solal was born in

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

, French Algeria on 23 August 1927, to Algerian Jewish 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 (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against ...

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 people, Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Belgium, Belgian-born Romani jazz guitarist and composer in France. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe ...

and U.S. expatriates such as

Sidney Bechet Sidney Joseph Bechet ( ; May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important Solo (music), soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Ar ...

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 l ...

. 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 and 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 ...

'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 perf ...

. From 1968, he performed and recorded with

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

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". Solal died in

Versailles, Yvelines Versailles ( , ) is a commune in the department of the Yvelines, Île-de-France, known worldwide for the Château de Versailles and the gardens of Versailles, which is designated an UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Located in the western suburbs ...

on 12 December 2024, at the age of 97.

Style

His jazz approach was once described by

Jean-Pierre Thiollet Jean-Pierre Thiollet (; born 9 December 1956) is a French writer and journalist. He is also affiliated with the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions, a European trade union. Career Thiollet attended a school in Châtelleraul ...

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, 11 April 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, ...

) * 1954: ''Martial Solal Trio'' (Disques Vogue) * 1959: ' ( Columbia) (7") * 1960: ''Martial Solal'' (Columbia; US release by Capitol) * 1962: ' (Columbia); US release as ''In Concert''/''Trio in Concert'' (

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

, 1963) * 1962: ' ( Pathé-Marconi) * 1963: ' (

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

) * 1963: ''Martial Solal and the European All Stars'' (

Telefunken Telefunken was a German radio and television producer, founded in Berlin in 1903 as a joint venture between Siemens & Halske and the ''AEG (German company), Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft'' (AEG) ("General electricity company"). Prior to ...

; Canada release by

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

) * 1964: ' (Columbia) * 1965: ''Martial Solal'' (Columbia) * 1965: ''En Liberte'' (Columbia) (with Gilbert Rovere and Charles Bellonzi) * 1965: ''Son 66'' (Columbia) * 1966: ''En Direct Du Blue Note'' (Columbia; US release in 1969 as ''On Home Ground'' by

Milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway, railway line, canal or border, boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks like Mileage sign, mileage signs; or they c ...

) * 1970: ''Locomotion'' (PSI, imprint of Musique Pour L'Image) (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'' (Dreyfus Jazz) * 1984: ''Plays Hodeir'' (OMDCD) * 1991: ''Triptyque'' ( Adda) * 1991: ''Duo in Paris'' (Dreyfus Jazz) * 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 Jazz) * 2003: ' (

Blue Note Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...

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

Grand Piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

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

Co-leader

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

(

Inner City The term inner city (also called the hood) 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. Soc ...

) * 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 o ...

(MPS) * 1977: '' Duplicity'' 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) 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 first all-string jazz bands. ...

( Sunnyside) * 1983: '' Star Eyes, Hamburg 1983'' with Lee Konitz ( HatOLOGY) * 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 playing the chromatic harmonica, as well as his guitar and wh ...

'' (

Erato In Greek mythology, Erato (; ) is one of the Greek Muses, the 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 of Rhodes playfully sugge ...

) * 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 27 ...

(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 Jazz) * 2000: ' with Éric Le Lann (Nocturne, H&L) * 2006: ' with Dave Douglas ( CAM Jazz) * 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 ...

(Sunnyside) * 2020: ', with

(Sunnyside)

Sideman

* 1974: '' Jazz à Juan'' (

SteepleChase SteepleChase Records is a jazz record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time. He began recording concerts at Jazzhus Montmartre, ...

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

References

External links

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solal, Martial 1927 births 2024 deaths French film score composers French male film score composers French jazz pianists Algerian Jews Pausa Records artists Musicians from Algiers Bebop pianists Post-bop pianists 21st-century French pianists 21st-century French male musicians 21st-century Algerian people French male jazz pianists