Michel Portal
Multi-instrumentalist (clarinets, saxophones, bandoneon, etc.) and composer Michel Portal can be considered the father of the French modern jazz scene.
Classically trained, Portal gained renown through his association with various modern and contemporary music composers. His performance as the featured soloist on Pierre Boulez's Domaines remains a highlight of his career. However, this exceptional musician also had a serious interest in folk music and jazz. In the late '60s, he initiated the free jazz movement in France with François Tusques, Bernard Vitet, and Sunny Murray. He went on to form New Phonic Art with Vinko Globokar, Carlos Roque Alsina, and Jean-Pierre Drouet to encourage collective improvisation, sonic explorations, and instant composing. In 1970, Portal developed a fruitful collaboration with John Surman. The following year, he created the long-lived Michel Portal Unit, a structure designed to have European and American musicians meet in a freely improvised setting. In 1975, writing movie soundtracks became a regular activity, which is well-documented on Musiques de Cinémas. In the '80s and '90s, Portal went through countless new musical encounters, never following a plan and always seizing the moment. During that period, his most notable collaborators included Pierre Favre, Dave Liebman, Martial Solal, Mino Cinelu, and Jack DeJohnette.
At the turn of the century, Portal finally started to make a serious connection with the U.S., and Minneapolis in particular. He enlisted the help of some of Prince's musicians to develop a rock-tinged project which represented yet another departure. More stylistically expansive releases followed, including 2007's Birdwatcher and 2009's Remembering Weather Report. In 2017, Portal collaborated with the French string ensemble Quatuor Ebene on Eternal Stories.
© Alain Drouot /TiVo
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Brahms: Sonatas for clarinet and piano op.120 (Michel Portal, Georges Pludermacher)
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on Jan 1, 1969
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concerts Inédits: Duo (Live)
Richard Galliano, Michel Portal
Jazz - Released by Dreyfus Jazz on Jan 1, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Clarinet Sonatas, Op. 120 & Clarinet Trio, Op. 114
Michel Portal, Boris Pergamenschikow, Mikhail Rudy
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Aug 26, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Chamber Quintets, Op.111 & 115
Michel Portal, Gérard Caussé, Melos Quartett
Quartets - Released by harmonia mundi on Jul 31, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Sonatas for Clarinet and Piano, Op.120
Georges Pludermacher, Michel Portal
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on Jan 1, 1969
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Arrivederci Le Chouartse (Live)
Michel Portal, Léon Francioli, and Pierre Favre
Jazz - Released by hatOLOGY on Jan 1, 1981
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Horn Trio, Op. 40 & Clarinet Trio, Op. 114
Pierre Del Vescovo, Michel Portal, Pierre Amoyal, Frédéric Lodéon, Michel Dalberto
Classical - Released by Warner Classics International on Jan 1, 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo