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Michel Portal

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Michel Portal
Background information
Born (1935-11-27) 27 November 1935 (age 89)
Bayonne, France
GenresJazz
Classical
Avant-garde music
Occupation(s)Musician, composer
Instrument(s)Saxophone, clarinet, bandoneon
Years active1950s–present
LabelsLabel Bleu, Harmonia Mundi, RCA, Trema, Cy Records

Michel Portal (born 27 November 1935)[1] is a French composer, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He plays both jazz and classical music and is considered to be "one of the architects of modern European jazz".[2]

Early life

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Portal was born in Bayonne on 27 November 1935.[3] His family was musical and there were several instruments in his house when he was growing up.[2] His interest in jazz began after hearing it on the radio after World War II.[2] He studied clarinet at the Conservatoire de Paris[3] and conducting with Pierre Dervaux.[4]

Later life and career

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Portal "gained experience in light music with the bandleaders Henri Rossotti and (in Spain in 1958) Perez Prado, as well as with the drummer Benny Bennett (1960), Raymond Fonsèque (1963), Aimé Barelli, and, for many years, the singer Claude Nougaro".[3] Portal co-founded the free improvisation group New Phonic Art.[2] During 1969, Portal played on a recording of Karlheinz Stockhausen's Aus den sieben Tagen.[2]

Portal began scoring music for films in the 1980s.[2] He has won the César Award for Best Music Written for a Film three times.[5][6][7]

Discography

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As leader

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  • Our Meanings and Our Feelings (Pathe, 1969)
  • Alors!!! (Futura, 1970)
  • Splendid Yzlment (CBS, 1972)
  • A Chateauvallon: No, No But It May Be (Le Chant Du Monde, 1973)
  • Sonates Pour Clarinette et Piano, Op. 120 (Harmonia Mundi, 1977)
  • Dejarme Solo! (Cy, 1979)
  • Arrivederci Le Chouartse (Hat Hut, 1981)
  • L'ombre Rouge (Saravah, 1981)
  • Men's Land (Label Bleu, 1987)
  • Turbulence (Harmonia Mundi, 1987)
  • Concerto Pour Clarinette (Harmonia Mundi, 1989)
  • Any Way (Label Bleu, 1993)
  • Musiques De Cinemas (Label Bleu, 1995)
  • Dockings (Label Bleu, 1998)
  • Rencontre Duos Pour Clarinette (EMI, 1998)
  • Fast Mood (BMG, 1999)
  • Burundi (PAO, 2000)
  • Minneapolis (Universal, 2000)
  • Minneapolis We Insist! (Universal, 2002)
  • Concerts (Dreyfus, 2004)
  • Birdwatcher (Sunnyside, 2007)
  • Bailador (Classics, 2010)
  • Radar (Intuition, 2016)
  • Eternal Stories (Erato, 2017)
  • MP85 (Label Bleu, 2021)

As sideman

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With Barbara

  • Barbara No. 2 (Philips, 1965)
  • Le Soleil Noir (Philips, 1968)
  • Barbara Chante Barbara (Philips, 1978)
  • L'aigle Noir (Philips, 1981)

With Richard Galliano

  • Laurita (Dreyfus, 1995)
  • Blow Up (Dreyfus, 1997)
  • French Touch (Dreyfus, 1998)
  • Concerts Inedits (Dreyfus, 1999)

With Laurent Korcia

  • Danses (Naive, 2004)
  • Doubles Jeux (Naive, 2006)
  • Laurent Korcia (Naive, 2008)

With others

References

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  1. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1980. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Allen, Clifford (1 July 2005). "Michel Portal: Meanings, Feelings and Rivers". AllAboutJazz.
  3. ^ a b c Laplace, Michel (2003), Portal, Michel, Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J359200
  4. ^ Free Improvisation: New Phonic Art 1973, Deutsche Grammophon, 1974, p. 4
  5. ^ "Prix et nominations: César 1983". allocine.fr. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  6. ^ "Prix et nominations: César 1985". allocine.fr. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  7. ^ "Prix et nominations: César 1988". allocine.fr. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
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