Heraldo de Madrid - French 'Free Jazz' pioneer Portal dies aged 90

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French 'Free Jazz' pioneer Portal dies aged 90

CULTURE 15.02.2026

French 'Free Jazz' pioneer Portal dies aged 90 / Photo: JOEL SAGET - AFP/File

Michel Portal, a French pioneer of European modern jazz and a prolific writer of film music, has died aged 90, his agent said Sunday.

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A multi-instrumentalist at home with the clarinet, saxophone and the Argentine bandoneon or the 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". Portal won three French Cesar awards for his cinematic music.

Born in the French Basque city of Bayonne in 1935, Portal started playing the clarinet aged eight and joined local folk orchestras.

Having built up his reputation as a soloist, Portal started contributing to the works of contemporary music giants such as Pierre Boulez, Luciano Berio and Karlheinz Stockhausen.

Portal co-founded the New Phonic Art improvisational group and his later Michel Portal Unit gained an international reputation.

But Portal also made an album with the funk musicians who backed the late pop star Prince.

His last album, released for his 85th birthday in 2021, won the jazz album of the year at France's Victoires music awards.

P.Sanabria--HdM