Recorded near the end of December 2005 and released on Nocturne Records in early 2007, Martial Solal's Exposition Sans Tableau finds him at the center of his Newdecaband, an exactly halved edition of his highly acclaimed 12-piece Dodecaband. This bracing ride through six Solal originals features the wild but artfully controlled wordless vocals of daughter Claudia Solal amidst a cluster of two trumpets, trombone, and percussion. Born in Algeria in 1927, this brilliant pianist worked with Django Reinhardt and Sidney Bechet, and achieved international fame for his punchy music used in the soundtrack for Jean Luc Godard's sensationally unconventional film A Bout de Souffle, which was reissued by Emarcy in 2003. To some extent, Solal's angular compositions may be somewhat reminiscent of the music he scored for Godard, especially when the changes are vividly spelled out in brass, and that's pretty exciting. Like much of his later ensemble work, this is supremely well-crafted, modern creative jazz, fully in touch with where the music has been and boldly indicating where it still wants and needs to go. - arwulf aewulf
Tracks
1. Incoercible (Martial Solal)
2. Western (Martial Solal)
3. A Frail Dance (Claudia Solal/Martial Solal)
4. Cortancyl (Martial Solal)
5. Exposition Sans Tableau (Martial Solal)
6. Lamblike (Martial Solal)
MARTIAL SOLAL piano
JEAN-PHILLIPPE MOREL electric bass, acoustic bass
DENIS LELOUP trombone
MARC ROGER trombone
CLAUDE EGÉA trumpet
ERIC LE LANN trumpet
CLAUDIA SOLAL vocals
Recorded 26-29 December at Studio 104 of Radio France, Paris
Nocturne - NTCD 401