Search - Martial Solal :: Contrastes: Jazzpar Prize

The prodigiously talented Martial Solal's never been a household word in jazz. But he's been around a long time, first coming to the U.S. in 1963 for a Newport Jazz Festival appearance. Born in Algiers and resident in Paris, Solal earned the coveted Danish Jazzpar Prize for 1999, an event that steered him toward this recording with the Danish Radio Jazz Orchestra. With his trio, Solal drives the big band through rugged terrain, shifting styles in quick order to maximize color and drama. As a pianist, Solal has long been cherished for a command of the keyboard that rivals the most spectacular tickler of all time, Art Tatum. He plays the role here of provocateur, drawing the Danes into zany races and big, curvy melodic statements punctuated by riffs and blasts. In addition, though, he brings his trio--with bassist Mads Vinding and drummer Daniel Humair--into the spotlight for "Summertime," "Ritournelle No. 1," and "Ritournelle No. 2." The trio works are every bit as infused with sprawl, Solal's piano managing to sound all-inclusive and coherently singular in the same moment. This is one for piano fans, especially those who love exuberant inventiveness--think Misha Mengelberg or 1970s-era Keith Jarrett as much as Tatum--and untrammeled improvisatory imagination. --Andrew Bartlett