French-based pianist Martial Solal (1927), who started recording his own compositions in 1956, was Europe's main bebop pianist.
He also scored several film soundtracks, notably JeanLuc Godard's A Bout de Souffle (1959).
Notable among his later albums was
Four Keys (may 1979), in a quartet with altoist Lee Konitz, guitarist John Scofield and bassist Niels Pedersen.
Solal collaborated twice with Michel Portal (sax and clarinet):
Martial Solal Michel Portal (recorded in late 1991) and
Fast Mood (march 1999).
Just Friends (july 1997) features Gary Peacock on bass and Paul Motian on drums.
Longitude (2008) was one of his best piano trios.
Histoires Improvisees (june 2018) delivered another 19 compositions.
Martial Solal died in december 2024 at 97.
