These 1953 recordings of Algerian pianist Martial Solal were originally made for the Swing and Vogue label in Paris and document some of the earliest work. Even at this stage his vivid imagination and determination to extend the language of the piano is evident – standards are usually transformed into something original and exciting. During the period of these recordings Solal was regularly appearing at the Club St. Germain as well as at the Ringside where he met touring musicians like J.J. Johnson, Clifford Brown, Don Byas and Lucky Thompson. It isn’t difficult to understand why they were all massively impressed by this young pianist. Bobby Jasper wrote in 1955: “The lyricism, the reassuring feeling that things were on the right path, the audacious attitude of the musician who plumbed right to the depths of himself and made music from jazz and jaz from music, it was from Martial that I secretly went to draw these things every evening”

01 La Chaloupée (Offenbach) 2:46
02 The Champ (Gillespie) 3:02
03 Ramona (Wayne) 2:57
04 Dinah (Akst) 3:03
05 Poinciana (Bernier-Simon) 3:00
06 Farniente (Solal) 3:20
07 Pennies From Heaven (Johnson-Burke) 2:40
08 Once In A While (Green-Edwards) 2:41
09 Signal (Raney) 2:58
10 Midi 1/4 (Solal) 2:51
11 Just One Of Those Things (Porter) 2:31
12 You’re Not A Kind Of A Boy (Smith) 2:50
13 I Only Have Eyes For You (Warren) 2:56
14 You Stepped Out Of A Dream (Brown) 2:32
15 Darn That Dream (Delange-Van Heusen) 3:34
16 The Way You Look Tonight (Kern) 2:53

Vol.1
Martial Solal, piano on all tracks
Pierre Michelot (bass on tracks 1, 3, 4, 8)
Jean-Marie Ingrand (bass on track 2)
Pierre Lemarchand (drums on tracks 1, 2, 4)
Jean-Louis Viale (drums on tracks 2, 5, 6, 7)
Recorded in Paris 16-5-1953 and 24-2-1954

Vol.2
Martial Solal, piano on all tracks
Jean-Marie Ingrand (bass on tracks 9-12)
Jean-Louis Viale (drums on tracks 9-12)
Joe Benjamin (bass on tracks 13-16)
Roy Haynes (drums on tracks 13-16)

Compiled and manufactured by Mad About Records