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Martial Solal

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Martial Solal was a French jazz pianist and composer, born in 1927 in Algiers to Algerian-Jewish parents. His mother, an opera singer, made sure he learned clarinet, saxophone and piano. In 1942 he was expelled from school because of his parents' Jewish origins, when the Vichy regime followed German policy. He learned a great deal by playing along to music from the radio and at fifteen was already performing for American soldiers.

Music and breakthrough

In 1950 he settled in Paris, where he played with Django Reinhardt and with American expatriates such as Sidney Bechet and Don Byas. In the late 1950s he led a quartet and sometimes a big band. He wrote more than twenty film scores, including for Breathless by Jean-Luc Godard from 1960. In 1963 he played at the Newport Jazz Festival, with the bassist Guy Pedersen and the drummer Daniel Humair. From 1968 he played in Europe and the United States with Lee Konitz. Albums include En Liberté from 1965, Electrodes from 1966 and Action from 1969.

Influence

Jean-Pierre Thiollet called his playing brilliant, unique and intellectual. Solal said that you must make people believe that something is very easy, even if it is very difficult. He died in 2024, ninety-seven years old, and was an example of a European pianist who sought his own paths in jazz.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a recording by Solal and notice how he takes a familiar theme apart and sends it off in unexpected directions, while the playing still sounds easy.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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Mentioned in other articles

See also

Categories: ArtistsNouvelle vague