Biography
Martial Solal, born on August 23, 1927, is a French jazz pianist and composer.
He was born in Algiers, French Algeria, to Jewish parents. Encouraged by his mother, an opera singer, he studied clarinet, saxophone, and piano. Due to his Jewish heritage, he was expelled from school in 1942 during the Vichy regime's enforcement of Nazi policies in the French colony of Algeria. After receiving classical music education, Solal taught himself by mimicking radio music. At 15, he performed publicly for United States Army audiences.
In 1950, after moving to Paris, he collaborated with Django Reinhardt and American expatriates like Sidney Bechet and Don Byas. He formed a quartet in the late 1950s and occasionally led a big band, having recorded as a leader since 1953. Solal also composed film scores, contributing to over 20 films, including Jean-Luc Godard’s first feature, Breathless (À bout de souffle, 1960).
He appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island in 1963; however, the Newport '63 album, marketed as a live recording, is actually a studio recreation with added applause, as noted in later reissues. His trio at the time featured bassist Guy Pedersen and drummer Daniel Humair. From 1968 onward, he performed and recorded with Lee Konitz in Europe and the U.S.
In January 2011, The Gruppen Review published a 12-page interview with Solal, highlighting his ongoing dedication as a perpetual "researcher in jazz.
