US EditionFrench 'Free Jazz' Pioneer Portal Dies Aged 90
Michel Portal won three César awards for film scores and released a landmark 1965 album that helped shape European jazz, his agent said.
- Marion Piras, his agent, said on Sunday that Michel Portal, a French pioneer of European modern jazz, died aged 90.
- Born in Bayonne in 1935, Portal started clarinet at age eight and joined local folk orchestras before co-founding New Phonic Art.
- Marion Piras called him `a huge monument for modern jazz, for European jazz, totally open to a huge amount of music and experiences`, and he contributed to works by Pierre Boulez, Luciano Berio and Karlheinz Stockhausen.
- His 2021 album, released for his 85th birthday, won jazz album of the year at France's Victoires music awards, highlighting his legacy.
- The 1965 album "Free Jazz" by Michel Portal was considered a landmark in challenging American jazz dominance, and he recorded with the funk musicians who backed Prince.
72 Articles
72 Articles
Paris. French clarinetist Michel Portal, an award-winning figure of contemporary jazz, died at the age of 90, announced yesterday one of his artistic representatives, Marion Piras. Recognized for his versatility in both genres and instruments – he also played saxophone and composed for cinema – he is considered one of the pioneers of free jazz, with which he freed European musicians from American canons in 1965.
Paris, France. French clarinetist Michel Portal, an award-winning contemporary jazz figure, died at the age of 90, announced on Sunday to one of his artistic representatives, Marion Piras. Recognized for his versatility in both genres and instruments — he also played saxophone — he is considered one of the pioneers of free jazz and also composed for cinema. In 1965, he laid the foundations for a new style with the album ‘Free Jazz’, with which h…
French jazz musician Michel Portal is dead.
Michel Portal, figure of contemporary jazz, died. The musician had been mutli-recomposed during his career, especially for his compositions for cinema.
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