The Musician Insight

Quelques Notes sur la Liberté (Little Notes on Freedom), the final album of the legendary jazz musician Michel Portal was released in posthumously.

Serving as the soundtrack to the documentary of the same name directed by Benjamin Delattre, the opus pays a brilliant homage to the artist. Throughout the record, the listener is invited to share an intimate moment with the musician, (re)discovering his artistic process.

Here, Michel Portal demonstrates the complexity of improvisation, particularly at the bass clarinet, an instrument that he helped bring to prominence with his track Mozambic (released in 1987 on the Turbulence album). For him, the goal is to create a fluid improvisation, in dialogue with itself, offering a true masterclass in musicality.

But the woodwinds aren’t the only instruments brought to light: the bandoneon also occupies a special place in Michel Portal’s world. We can especially hear it in J’ai envie de chanter ça (I want to sing that), where he presents an approach that is both classical and anchored in jazz.

For the legendary musician, the sheet music is omnipresent, constantly unfolding in his mind. His devotion for music is beautifully captured in this great album: “Ça je peux le jouer à l’éternité […]. Et ça je peux pas en sortir” (This I could play for eternity […]. And this I cannot escape).

First picture © Getty – Photo by Derek Hudson