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The underrecognized
Martial Solal is one of Europe's best pianists; he's been performing since the late 1940s. For the last ten years or so he's led his Dodecaband, which is a 12-piece big band, as its name implies. For this release (the first by the band), Solal has recorded a program of his arrangements of a number of Duke Ellington tunes. Solal's band, with nine horns, is smaller than the typical Ellington band, with fourteen horns. Solal gets a rich and open sound with his smaller band. He uses some interesting horn voicings and gets some nice sounds through his use of tuba and soprano sax.
Solal's arrangements are not copies of Ellington's arrangements—Solal has his own sound and puts his own voice into his arrangements. But I think he honors the legacy of Ellington by writing arrangements that seem fresh and alive, but still keep the spirit of the tunes. (And who wants to hear the same arrangements time after time? — after all, Duke changed his own arrangements over the years.)
Solal's arrangements use interludes that add variety and space to breathe. For instance, on "Caravan" there's a trumpet solo, then a piano trio passage, and later a solo trumpet section. "It Don't Mean A Thing" has a soprano sax/alto sax duet. Solal has excellent players, but the stars of the recording are his excellent arranging and crisp, fluttery piano playing. (As in Ellington's band, Solal's band also has an excellent piano player.)
In the 27 years since the death of Duke Ellington many musicians have produced tribute albums. Solal's recording with the Dodecaband stands with the best of them.
— Alan Lankin, May 2001
Release Date: 1 February 2001
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last update 26 May 2001