Martial Solal and His Orchestra 1956-1962

From his beginnings, Martial Solal made it clear that he was not like other pianists, and maybe that’s why it took him a few years to get the unreserved recognition of the jazz world. His talent and excellent technique along with his advanced harmonic conception were his credentials as an innovative pianist. It was these same qualities that he took to the world of orchestral writing, where he showed that his gifts as an arranger go hand in hand with his talent as a pianist. 

Listening to these recordings, the intimate character of his compositions and his mastery as an instrumentalist shine through on every note, and make obvious that Martial Solal had fun extrapolating his ideas and musical concepts from the piano to a large orchestra.

Track Listing: 
1. Au Quatrième Top - 2:55   2. Midi 1/4 - 3:02   3. Horloge Parlant - 2:48   4. Dernière Minute - 2:01   5. Blouse Bleue - 2:16   6. Fantasque - 2:20   7. Alhambra - 2:12   8. Special Club - 2:33   9. Tourmenté - 3:08   10. Middle Jazz - 2:41   11. Studio Fagon - 2:17   12. Yes or No - 2:44   13. In the Moon - 2:41   14. Basie-Likes - 2:42   15. 18+1 - 2:35   16. Mystère Solal - 2:04   17. Petite Poupée - 2:50   18. A Titre Indicatif - 0:55

Sources:
Tracks #1-4, from the EP “Quelle heure est-il?” (Vogue EPL 7259)
Tracks #5-13, from the LP “Martial Solal et son Grande Orchestre” (Swing LDM. 30.099)
Tracks #14-17, from the EP “Mister Solal” (Columbia ESDF 1412)
Track #18, from the same session as #14-17

Martial Solal and His Orchestra

Personnel on #1-4:
Roger Guérin, Bernard Hulin, Fernand Verstraete, Fred Gerard Robert Fassin, trumpets; Billy Byers, André Paquinet, Benny Vasseur Charles Verstraete, trombones; Hubert Rostaing, clarinet, alto sax; André 'Teddy' Hameline, alto sax; Georges Grenu, Armand Migiani, tenor saxes; William Boucaya, baritone sax; Martial Solal, piano; Benoît Quersin, bass; Christian Garros, drums.
Recorded in Paris, May 30, 1956

Personnel on #5-7:
Roger Guérin, Christian Bellest, Fred Gerard, Jean Garrec, Maurice Thomas, trumpets; Billy Byers, Nat Peck, Guy Destanque, Charles Verstraete, trombones; Hubert Rostaing, clarinet, alto sax, Jean Aldegon, alto sax; Lucky Thompson, Jacques Ferrier, tenor saxes; Michel Cassez, baritone sax; Pierre Gossez, baritone & bass sax; Martial Solal, piano; Pierre Michelot, bass; Kenny Clarke, drums.
Recorded in Paris, July 13, 1957

Personnel on #8-10:
Roger Guérin, trumpet; Luis Fuentes, trombone; André Fournier, French horn; Georges Grenu, alto sax; Barney Wilen, tenor sax; William Boucaya, baritone sax; Martial Solal, piano; Pierre Michelot, bass; Kenny Clarke, drums.
Recorded in Paris, 1958

Personnel on #11-13:
Roger Guérin, Fernand Verstraete, Fred Gerard, Robert Fassin, trumpets; Bill Tamper, Charles Verstraete, André Paquinet, Gaby Vilain, trombones; Martial Solal, piano; Pierre Michelot, bass; Kenny Clarke, drums.
Recorded in Paris, 1958

Personnel on #14-18:
Roger Guérin, flugelhorn; Georges Gay, Pierre Sellin, Christian Bellest, trumpets; Raymond Katarzinsky, Nat Peck, André Paquinet, Gaby Vilain, trombones; René 'Micky' Nicholas, alto sax; Jo Hrasko, alto & sopranino sax; Pierre Gossez, soprano sax; Georges Grenu, Jean-Louis Chautemps, tenor saxes; Armand Migiani, bass sax; William Boucaya, baritone sax; Martial Solal, piano; Pierre Cullaz, guitar; Guy Pedersen, bass; Daniel Humair, drums.
Recorded in Paris, March 2, 1962

Reviews:

1. www.jazzweekly.com - George W. Harris – 2019.06.27
"Still alive and well at 91, pianist Martial Solal is still one of the most harmonically sophisticated pianists to come out of the hard bop era. Usually associated in a trio setting, this album from Fresh Sound Records has him in a series of large band settings, mixing and matching American Ex-Pats like Kenny Clarke/dr, Billy Byers/tb and Lucky Thompson/ts with local all stars Roger Guerin/tp, Pierre Michelot/b, Barney Wilen/ts and Piere Gossez/bs.

The Parisian sessions feature material that is fairly concise, usually clocking in under two minutes, with bold brass and rich reeds setting a framework for Solal’s solos on matrial such as “Horloge Parlant” and the hip “Blouse Bleue.” The charts get tricky on “Fatasque” and Guerin gets some solo space on “Alhambra.” Things get quite creative when Solal puts together a brass heavy team with a rhythm team of himself with Clarke and Michelot on bright and swift pieces like “Studio Fagon” and “Yes Or No” that comes across like a French version of Stan Kenton, while a big band filled with reeds ranging down to bass sax gets bold and swinging on “ Basie-Likes” and the muted trumpets team wih harpsichord on the clever “Mystere Solal.” Clever flavors in this souffle of a dish."