Martial Solal

[bluenoter]

I am STILL hoping to find a copy of his album with Marius Constant, "Stress," but no such luck yet.

Is a used LP from Europe okay? If so, have you checked on whether it's still available from this seller . . .

http://www.discogs.c...0?ev=bp_rel_det

. . . or the other sellers here?

Edited August 5, 2012 by bluenoter

[bluenoter]

OK, what the hell is that album he did with Michel Magne? How have I missed this? Is it amazing? Is it in print?

You mean this one? "Martial Solal Plays Michel Magne."

The back cover calls it Electrodes (plural), which I'd guess is correct. [Edit, much later: changed the URL (link address), hoping that this one will stay alive.]

Three tracks from it on YouTube:

Electrodes

Air Liquide

Poignée De Ciel Edited May 31, 2013 by bluenoter

[ghost of miles]

Working on a Night Lights show about Solal's 1950s/early 60s recordings for his 90th birthday next month and thought that I'd up this thread for any fans of the pianist that might not have come across it already.

[EKE BBB]

Thanks for such promising Night Lights, ghost! You gotta love Martial!!!

Thanks for such promising Night Lights, ghost! You gotta love Martial!!!

Thanks for such promising Night Lights, ghost! You gotta love Martial!!!

[kh1958]

There's a new Martial Solal CD coming out on Sunnyside--a duet with Dave Liebman from 2016, Masters in Bordeaux. Someone traded in a promo, so I'm in mid-second listen. It is pretty nice.

[Justin V]

5 hours ago, kh1958 said:

There's a new Martial Solal CD coming out on Sunnyside--a duet with Dave Liebman from 2016, Masters in Bordeaux. Someone traded in a promo, so I'm in mid-second listen. It is pretty nice.

That sounds like it should be very interesting.  Thanks for mentioning it.

[EKE BBB]

Release date seems to be 29 September.

Track list:

 1. All the Things You Are
  2. Night and Day
  3. Solar
  4. What Is This Thing Called Love
  5. On Green Dolphin Street
  6. Lover Man

[ghost of miles]

Bon anniversaire, Monsieur Solal, from Night Lights!

Caravan: Martial Solal, The Early Years

[king ubu]

The Solal/Liebman is nice, if somwhat understated. 

But this here looks mighty good:

----

Martial Solal

SOLO PIANO: UNRELEASED 1966 LOS ANGELES SESSION · VOLUME 1

Fresh Sound Records

In June 1966, invited by the shrewd American producer and author Ross Russell, Martial Solal traveled to Los Angeles to record these forgotten and unreleased solo piano sessions. Russell, who had launched the legendary label Dial Records back in 1946 to record Charlie Parker, had spent several years away from the jazz scene after shutting Dial down in 1949. When he decided to return to the jazz record business, he organized a series of recordings at Glendale’s Whitney Studio, which had a wonderful Steinway. Unfortunately, Russell’s new project didn’t come to fruition, and so Solal’s recordings never saw the light.

Now we can finally hear them in two CD volumes. They show Martial Solal at his best, his incontestable talent, dazzling virtuosity and invention, but also his good taste and sense of humor in the execution. The originality of his conception, paired with his elegant control and technique, put him on a par with the great American pianists.


Tracklisting:
01. Groovin' High (Dizzy Gillespie) 4:02
02. Scrapple from the Apple (Charlie Parker) 5:54
03. I Can't Get Started (Duke-Gershwin) 3:44
04. Night in Tunisia (Dizzy Gillespie) 8:53
05. Ornithology (Charlie Parker) 5:43
06. Yardbird Suite (Charlie Parker) 4:31
07. Embraceable You (G. & I. Gershwin) 4:17
08. Now's the Time (Charlie Parker) 4:36
09. Lover Man (Davis-Ramirez-Sherman) 6:10
10. Blue Monk (Thelonious Monk) 4:38
11. Billie's Bounce (Charlie Parker) 5:01
12. 'Round Midnight (Thelonious Monk) 5:28
13. Un Poco Loco (Bud Powell) 3:20

Martial Solal, Solo Piano
Recorded at Whitney Studios, Glendale, California, June 18, 19 (#10 & 13) & 21 (#3,9 & 12), 1966

Original recordings produced by Ross Russell
Produced for CD release by Jordi Pujol

Stereo · 24-Bit Digitally Remastered

 

 

[sgcim]

I guess I'm not surprised that no one has mentioned this wonderful duo album by Martial and Jimmy Raney called "The Date":

[brownie]

That's a great record. Had it before I sold my vinyls. 

It's one of those albums I wish I still had. Still waiting for a CD appearance.

And I am waiting for that Ross Russell LA session release!

[Peter Friedman]

I looked for this Raney-Solal session on CD after reading what sqcim posted.

Thanks Brownie for clarifying that this has not been reissued on cd.

[HutchFan]

I'm sorta surprised that no one has mentioned Martial Solal's MPS recordings.  In this listener's opinion, they're among his very best.

According to the incredibly subjective HutchFan Five-Star Scale, I would rate each of Solal's MPS LPs as follows:

Martial Solal & Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen - Movability (1976) -- 5 STARS

 

Martial Solal - Nothing But Piano (1976) -- 5 STARS

 

Martial Solal / Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen / Daniel Humair - Suite for Trio (1978) -- 5 STARS

 

Martial Solal - The Solosolal (1979) -- 4 STARS

 

Martial Solal / Lee Konitz / John Scofield / Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen - Four Keys (1979) -- 4.5 STARS

 

Lee Konitz & Martial Solal - Live At The Berlin Jazz Days 1980 (1982) -- 5 STARS

I always thought these would make a great Mosaic set.  Oh well. I guess that ship has sailed.

On the updside, since Edel's acquisition of the MPS catalog, many of these vital recordings have been made available again.  On the downside, they're largely only available as downloads.

Regardless of how you listen, I would strongly recommend all of these records.

 

 

Edited November 26, 2017 by HutchFan

[soulpope]

2 hours ago, HutchFan said:

I'm sorta surprised that no one has mentioned Martial Solal's MPS recordings.  In this listener's opinion, they're among his very best.

According to the incredibly subjective HutchFan Five-Star Scale, I would rate each of Solal's MPS LPs as follows:

Martial Solal & Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen - Movability (1976) -- 5 STARS

Martial Solal - Nothing But Piano (1976) -- 5 STARS

Martial Solal / Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen / Daniel Humair - Suite for Trio (1978) -- 5 STARS

Lee Konitz & Martial Solal - Live At The Berlin Jazz Days 1980 (1982) -- 5 STARS

A lot of stars .... and rightly so ....

[romualdo]

On 24/11/2017 at 4:45 AM, king ubu said:

The Solal/Liebman is nice, if somwhat understated. 

But this here looks mighty good:

----

Martial Solal

SOLO PIANO: UNRELEASED 1966 LOS ANGELES SESSION · VOLUME 1

Fresh Sound Records

In June 1966, invited by the shrewd American producer and author Ross Russell, Martial Solal traveled to Los Angeles to record these forgotten and unreleased solo piano sessions. Russell, who had launched the legendary label Dial Records back in 1946 to record Charlie Parker, had spent several years away from the jazz scene after shutting Dial down in 1949. When he decided to return to the jazz record business, he organized a series of recordings at Glendale’s Whitney Studio, which had a wonderful Steinway. Unfortunately, Russell’s new project didn’t come to fruition, and so Solal’s recordings never saw the light.

Now we can finally hear them in two CD volumes. They show Martial Solal at his best, his incontestable talent, dazzling virtuosity and invention, but also his good taste and sense of humor in the execution. The originality of his conception, paired with his elegant control and technique, put him on a par with the great American pianists.


Tracklisting:
01. Groovin' High (Dizzy Gillespie) 4:02
02. Scrapple from the Apple (Charlie Parker) 5:54
03. I Can't Get Started (Duke-Gershwin) 3:44
04. Night in Tunisia (Dizzy Gillespie) 8:53
05. Ornithology (Charlie Parker) 5:43
06. Yardbird Suite (Charlie Parker) 4:31
07. Embraceable You (G. & I. Gershwin) 4:17
08. Now's the Time (Charlie Parker) 4:36
09. Lover Man (Davis-Ramirez-Sherman) 6:10
10. Blue Monk (Thelonious Monk) 4:38
11. Billie's Bounce (Charlie Parker) 5:01
12. 'Round Midnight (Thelonious Monk) 5:28
13. Un Poco Loco (Bud Powell) 3:20

Martial Solal, Solo Piano
Recorded at Whitney Studios, Glendale, California, June 18, 19 (#10 & 13) & 21 (#3,9 & 12), 1966

Original recordings produced by Ross Russell
Produced for CD release by Jordi Pujol

Stereo · 24-Bit Digitally Remastered

 

 

Nice!!! will be getting these - how did Jordi get access to these tapes ie is this a legit release (like the Hollywood Nocturne box?)

Wonder who else he recorded at the Whitney & has any of it seen release?

 

Edited November 26, 2017 by romualdo

[king ubu]

22 hours ago, romualdo said:

Nice!!! will be getting these - how did Jordi get access to these tapes ie is this a legit release (like the Hollywood Nocturne box?)

Wonder who else he recorded at the Whitney & has any of it seen release?

 

Not sure I care in this case ... hardly any of Solal's records made/owned by the majors have been in circulation ... where's all the brilliant stuff from the sixties and early seventies (three RCA albums are notable exceptions of course: At Newport, En Solo, Sans tambour ni trompette)?

All those with access to MPS (until revently for two decades Universal) ignored Solal (see the brilliant bunch of albums above ... "Suite for Trio" and the one with Hans Koller and Attila Zoller were on CD, other than that they reissued bland silly fusion by Germans but none of those great Solal albums!)

Probably none of those were involved in the productions in question, but with the current state of record business, Fresh Sound has advanced to be one of the best, no matter some shady aspects.

[EKE BBB]

On 23/11/2017 at 7:45 PM, king ubu said:

(...)

Martial Solal

SOLO PIANO: UNRELEASED 1966 LOS ANGELES SESSION · VOLUME 1

Fresh Sound Records

(...)

Martial Solal, Solo Piano
Recorded at Whitney Studios, Glendale, California, June 18, 19 (#10 & 13) & 21 (#3,9 & 12), 1966
 

 

Volume 2 is finally out:

https://www.freshsoundrecords.com/martial-solal-albums/6692-solo-piano-unreleased-1966-los-angeles-session-volume-2.html

 

Tracklisting:
01. Pennies from Heaven (Johnson-Burke) 3:34 
02. Blues Martial (Martial Solal) 2:43 
03. Fig Leaf Rag (Scott Joplin) 3:52 
04. Exactly Like You (McHugh-Fields) 3:42
05. Ain’t Miss Behavin’ (Fats Waller) 4:10 
06. Begin the Beguine (Cole Porter) 4:12 
07. Ah Non! (Martial Solal) 4:00
08. But Not for Me (G. & I. Gershwin) 3:15
09. Suite #105 (Martial Solal) 7:19 
10. Kansas City Stomp (Jelly Roll Morton) 3:05 
11. La Chaloupée (Jacques Offenbach) 3:20 
12. Everything Happens to Me (Adair-Dennis) 5:03 
13. Un Poco Loco (Bud Powell) 4:24

Martial Solal, Solo Piano
Recorded at Whitney Studios, Glendale, CA, June 19 (#2-6, 10 & 13), 21 (#1,7-9, 11 & 12), 1966

Original recordings produced by Ross Russell
Produced for CD release by Jordi Pujol

[Brad]

Thanks for the information. 

[HutchFan]

Thanks for sharing the news, EKE BBB.  

[Adam]

I need to get those LA sessions.  Some of those were recorded on my actual birth day.

[king ubu]

Vol. 1 is amazing ... gotta order Vol. 2 asap! 

[Ted O'Reilly]

I've just ordered the LA sessions volume 1, and expect I'll like it as I have all of his work.  I recorded him once for broadcast, and actually visited him at his home outside Paris.

Many years later (2003) emceed a solo piano Toronto concert performance where he played a VERY short first set, perhaps 25 minutes in length of standards:  "Here's That Rainy Day", "Prelude To A Kiss", "I Wish You Love"....  He came offstage and said  "Let's take a brief intermission, maybe 10 minutes.  I know that there are people who don't like the way I interpret these things, so let's give them a chance to leave without making a fuss."  Most people were still in their seats when I went back out, and I repeated what Solal said.  He came back out to strong applause, played another full hour (more standards, and jazz standards:  "Round Midnight", "April In Paris", "Sophisticated Lady/"In A Sentimental Mood", etc. and at the end got a standing ovation.

I've always found him to be one of the great musicians, as a player (whether as a sideman -- Bechet to Reinhardt to Byas to Koller & Zoller, Konitz to Liebman to Thielemans); or leader of a big band or as a soloist.  He's composed for small groups, big bands, film, stage, TV, concert orchestras.  He is deeply musical, and Gallicly whimsical in his playing -- I've laughed out loud at his audacity.

Martial Solal is an amazing musician, and I'm happy I've met and recorded him, and even more happy that I've heard him.  He's over 90 now:  what a life.  What music!

[soulpope]

1 hour ago, Ted O'Reilly said:

I've just ordered the LA sessions volume 1, and expect I'll like it as I have all of his work.  I recorded him once for broadcast, and actually visited him at his home outside Paris.

Many years later (2003) emceed a solo piano Toronto concert performance where he played a VERY short first set, perhaps 25 minutes in length of standards:  "Here's That Rainy Day", "Prelude To A Kiss", "I Wish You Love"....  He came offstage and said  "Let's take a brief intermission, maybe 10 minutes.  I know that there are people who don't like the way I interpret these things, so let's give them a chance to leave without making a fuss."  Most people were still in their seats when I went back out, and I repeated what Solal said.  He came back out to strong applause, played another full hour (more standards, and jazz standards:  "Round Midnight", "April In Paris", "Sophisticated Lady/"In A Sentimental Mood", etc. and at the end got a standing ovation.

Great story.... thnx for sharing ....

[Ted O'Reilly]

Yeah...think of that:  an uncompromising artist ("not going to change what I do") who thinks about his audience and is considerate of them.

[EKE BBB]

Happy B-day, Mr. Solal. 93 years young!