One of the highlights of ESB Dublin Jazz Week is sure to be a rare performance by French pianist Martial Solal, widely regarded as the greatest jazz musician France has ever produced.
Born in Algiers, in 1927, Solal was classically trained by the age of ten before falling in love with jazz through his music teacher. He moved to Paris in 1950 and with a technique that earned him comparisons to Oscar Peterson, became one of the premier European jazz pianists. Like Peterson his style is a highly individual blend of the influences of a wide variety of players ranging from Fats Waller and Art Tatum to Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk and Teddy Wilson.
By the time of Solal's arrival in Paris, the city had already become the jazz capital of Europe with a large number of notable American players attracted to the burgeoning jazz scene at clubs like the Blue Note and Club St. Germain. Among the many U.S. expats performing in the city in the 1950's were Dexter Gordon, Archie Shepp, Chet Baker and Miles Davis. French jazz stars had already begun to emerge from the scene, including players like Stephan Grapelli and Django Reinhardt who founded the legendary Hot Club de France, a fusion between swing jazz and gypsy music.
Despite this, Solal found it hard initially to become established. "The past always seems to be exciting when you look back on it but the jazz world was not what it is today," he recalls, speaking from his home in Paris. "The audience for jazz was relatively small back then. And in Paris people weren't all that interested in non-American musicians. I started doing gigs out of necessity, just to eat. I played in a striptease joint in the Pigalle for a while. Then I started going to the Club St Germain. After a few months I was allowed to sit in and, within a year, I was substituted for the regular player. That residency lasted over ten years."
Solal eventually went to New York in 1963 where his reputation and status as an exceptionally gifted player had already preceded him. He wound up playing with many of the greats of the era and performing in Carnegie Hall.
"For me that was the most exciting time in my life," he reminisces. "There were still a lot of jazz clubs and I was well received everywhere - I had a press interview almost everyday. The best part of it was I didn't have to make any effort to meet my heroes. I first played at a club called Hickory House and Duke Ellington and Errol Garner came along to see me. My idol back then was Teddy Wilson, and I met him too."
Solal later began composing for film and to date he has written over forty film scores including the music for Jean Luc Godard's classic A Bout de Souffle (Breathless).
"I was always interested in writing my own music, then I started to compose a long suite, which was completely unusual in jazz at the time," he explains. "People thought I should become a composer for films and I was introduced to a lot of film producers."
Now in his seventies, Solal continues to perform and record with both his trio and with his big band. He will bring two of Europe's top jazz musicians to Dublin. He regards today's healthy jazz scene as a good thing, but is less certain about some of the newer musicians.
"I think there are many more jazz musicians than before and a lot of them are good musicians. But whether I'm impressed with them is a lot harder to say. When you've heard so much and know so much about music, it's difficult to be impressed anymore. Also, there is so much more information available to the newer musicians so it's easier for them to hear different styles. In the early days it was difficult to hear the music that was being made elsewhere."
Martial Solal plays Vicar Street on Tuesday 19th September