Born in 1927 and still active as ever, Martial Solal is one of the most inventive and virtuosic jazz pianists of our time, and it’s not surprising that his notated piano works reflect his freewheeling improvisatory style. It is a style that slips back and forth between “inside” and “outside” as ideas spill out, tumble all over each other, and suddenly disintegrate to make room for another onslaught.
The opening work, Voyage en Anatolie, is basically a set of 13 variations using the harmonic template of Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm, packed with whirlwind unison runs, unexpected silences, and darting lines tinged with bebop and beyond. The Jazz Preludes feature tersely Webernesque and late Debussy-like ideas that fall back on more conventional modern jazz chords. By contrast, the Etudes are more loquacious and symmetrical, although not so varied, quirky, and creative as the notated improvisation Exercice de concert.
If pianist Eric Ferrand-N’Kaoua tends to constrain his dynamics between mezzo-forte and mezzo-piano parameters, he more than compensates with his effortless facility and thoroughly idiomatic mastery of jazz phrasing and time keeping. The composer/improvisor joins Ferrand-N’Kaoua for a spirited, carefree, and superbly synchronized ride through the Ballade for 2 Pianos. This release will delight piano enthusiasts, but to really hear Solal’s genius operate at full capacity, check out his brilliant solo jazz piano albums.
