Michel Portal

French saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer Michel Portal – born on November 27, 1935 in Bayonne, France – is now considered to be one of the architects of modern European jazz. Throughout the course of his career, he has tackled a variety of genres including classical, free form jazz, and avant-garde. Growing up in a musical family, his initial focus was classical but he became interested in jazz after World War II. After studying clarinet at the Conservatoire de Paris, he worked and collaborated with a variety of artists in the late 1950s and early 1960s including bandleaders Henri Rossotti and Perez Prado, drummer Benny Bennet, trombonist Raymond Fonsèque, trumpeter Aimé Barelli, and vocalist Claude Nougaro. As a sideman, he has worked with a wide range of artists including Richard Galliano, Claude Bolling, Jean-Luc Ponty, Michel Hausser, Serge Gainsbourg, Pierre Boulez, Thomas Dultronic, and many others. Michel Portal also co-founded free improvision outfit new Phonic Art. He is also known for his albums as a leader and as a soundtrack composer, for which he has won numerous awards. His vast catalog includes Our Meanings and Our Feelings (1969), Dejarme Solo! (1979), L'ombre Rouge (OST/1981), Blow Up (1996), Minneapolis (2001), Birdwatcher (2007), Baïlador (2010), and MP85 (2021).

Please enable Javascript to view this page competely.