Martial Solal, the Algerian-born French jazz pianist and composer, passed away last Thursday, December 12 in Versailles. He was 97 years old.
In the preface to Solal’s autobiography, André Hodeir wrote,
Martial Solal, born in 1927, is a pianist. According to Alain Gerber, he is ‘one of the world’s greatest musicians, across all styles, genres and cultures’. Solal ‘astounded’ Sviatoslav Richter, dazzled Duke Ellington with his ‘sensitivity, freshness, creativity and extraordinary technique’, and Bill Evans placed him ‘in the top rank of jazz pianists’. He was also a composer, notably for large orchestras and for the cinema, collaborating with Jean-Luc Godard on ‘A bout de souffle / Breathless’ and with Orson Welles on ‘The Trial’.
Martial Solal Trio: Farniente
Recorded in Paris on February 24, 1954, this recording features Solal with bassist Jean Marie Ingrand and drummer Jean-Louis Viale:
M B S Blues
This track opens Solal’s 1975 solo piano album, Nothing But Piano:
Live in Washington, D.C.
In a 2011 concert at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., Martial Solal put his unique stamp on music of Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, and others:
Recordings
- Martial Solal’s discography at AllMusic.com
Thank you for this hommage to Martial. To have astounded Richter is not small feat given Richter’s protean and undeniably Atlantean figure in the Classical Piano world.
My question is why after 50 years of following classical and jazz music have I not heard of Martial Solal? To be esteemed by Richter, Ellington, and Bill Evans just adds to the mystery. My guess is that it’s because he’s not American and probably lived out his career in France.
My first listen to him made Art Tatum come to mind but clearly their styles are quite different. Maybe Erroll Garner? Anyway, now I’m really glad I didn’t delete this post prior to learning about this amazing pianist. How many other greats are out there waiting to be discovered?
Thank you for sharing this post on Martial Solal. It was a joy to listen to him on a cold wintry afternoon.