Martial Solal

Martial Solal in 2006, with his Newdecaband

Martial Solal (born August 23, 1927 in Algiers, Algeria) is a French jazz pianist and composer, who is probably most widely known for the music he wrote for Jean-Luc Godard's debut feature film À bout de souffle (1960).

Biography

Solal was the son of an opera singer and piano teacher, who learnt the instrument from the age of six, settling in Paris in 1950. He soon began working with leading musicians including Django Reinhardt and expatriates from the United States like Sidney Bechet and Don Byas. 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 twenty scores.

In 1963 he made a much admired appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island; the Newport '63 album purporting to be a recording of this gig is actually a studio recreation. At this time, his regular trio featured bassist Guy Pedersen and drummer Daniel Humair. From 1968 he regularly performed and recorded with Lee Konitz in Europe and the United States of America.

In recent years, Martial Solal has continued to perform and record with his trio. Throughout his career he has performed solo, and during 1993-94 he gave thirty solo concerts for French Radio, a selection of performances from which were subsequently released in a 2-CD set Improvise Pour Musique France by JMS Records.

Solal has also written a piano method book entitled Jazz Works.

Discography

• 1953 The Complete Vogue Recordings, Vol. 1 – Trios And Quartet (Vogue/BMG, 1953–56)
• 1954 The Complete Vogue Recordings, Vol. 2 – Trios And Solos (Vogue/BMG, 1954–56)
• 1955 The Complete Vogue Recordings, Vol. 1 – Trio And Big Band (Vogue/BMG, 1955–58)
• 1965 Solal Series – Zo-Ko-So (MPS) with Hans Koller and Attila Zoller
• 1970 Sans Tambour Ni Trompette (RCA)
• 1971 En Solo (RCA)
• 1975 Duo In Paris (Dreyfus) with Joachim Kühn
• 1983 Bluesine (Soul Note)
• 1984 Plays Hodeir (OMD)
• 1984 Martial Solal Big band (Dreyfus)
• 1990 Tryptique (Adda)
• 1993 Solal-Lockwood (JMS)
• 1993 Improvisie Pour France Musique (JMS)
• 1994 Triangle (JMS) with Marc Johnson and Peter Erskine
• 1997 Just Friends (Dreyfus) with Gary Peacock and Paul Motian
• 1998 Ballade du 10 Mars (Soul Note)
• 1998 Jazz’n (e)motion (BMG/RCA)
• 1997 Plays Ellington (Dreyfus)

References

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