Martial Solal

Live In Ottobrunn

November 4, 2022

Release: November 4, 2022

Born in 1927, pianist Martial Solal is a widely respected cornerstone of French jazz history, having played with almost every American great who passed through the city in the 1950s and 1960s.

More than half a century later in 2018, his penultimate public concert – a solo piano show in a suburb of Munich – was recorded and is now set to release as a double album on GLM Records on November 4th.

‘Live in Ottobrunn’ captures the French legend performing a combination of classic standards, free improvisations and interpretations of popular folk/children’s songs.

A link between tradition and modernity, between his predecessors and descendants, his playing is still highly spontaneous and individual.

Born in 1927 in Algiers, the son of an opera singer, what initially drew Solal to jazz music was the playing of early greats such as Fats Waller and Art Tatum. Relocating to Paris at the age of 23, Solal found himself frequenting the Club Saint Germain to jam with the numerous American musicians who passed through the Club’s doors.

Quickly becoming the venue’s house pianist, he spent the subsequent decade accompanying American stars such as Stan Getz, Roy Haynes, Chet Baker, J.J. Johnson, and more.

His time in Paris also saw him perform with Jazz Manouche legend Django Reinhardt, lead his own big band in the late 50’s, and composing tens of film scores including for Jean-Luc Godard’s debut feature film Breathless.

Further musical inspirations come from the world of classical music; Solal has composed a series of chamber music works, a collection of piano etudes, and large-scale works including a concerto for piano and orchestra.

‘Live in Ottobrunn’ showcases a selection of songs where the spirit of each composition and the pianist’s own identity are equally at play. For fans of the pianist, it’s a shining last example of the outstanding importance of Martial Solal, his virtuosity, musical whit, and inexhaustible creativity.