"Michel Portal, a French pioneer of European modern jazz and a prolific writer of film music, has died aged 90, his agent said on Sunday. A multi-instrumentalist at home with the clarinet, saxophone, Argentine bandoneon and Hungarian taragot, Portal died on Thursday, said Marion Piras, one of his representatives. His 1965 album, Free Jazz, was considered a landmark in Europe's efforts to end American domination of the genre."
"He was "a huge monument for modern jazz, for European jazz, totally open to a huge amount of music and experiences," Piras told AFP. Portal played with several giants of both jazz and classical music. He also wrote music for more than 50 films from the 1960s through to 2015, including the award-winning 1982 historical drama The Return of Martin Guerre."
Michel Portal was a pioneering French multi-instrumentalist born in Bayonne in 1935 who died aged 90. He mastered clarinet, saxophone, Argentine bandoneon and Hungarian taragot, and began playing clarinet at eight in local folk orchestras. His 1965 album Free Jazz marked a landmark in European efforts to end American domination of the genre. Portal collaborated with contemporary music figures Pierre Boulez, Luciano Berio and Karlheinz Stockhausen and performed with major jazz and classical artists. He composed more than 50 film scores from the 1960s to 2015, won three César awards, and released an award-winning 85th birthday album in 2021.
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