Volume 7 of the prestigious series "European Jazz Legends", a cooperation between the German record label Intuition, magazine Jazz Thing, radio station WDR 3 and the theatre of Gütersloh. It sees the French saxophonist/clarinettist Michel Portal, alongside WDR Bigband and the American pianist Richie Beirach. Michel Portals extended improvisations with Beirach were recorded for this CD on March 5th 2016 during a concert in the Theater Gütersloh and mark the first time these musicians ever played together. They are further proof of the universality of the musical language of jazz and the fascinating and infectious vitality of improvisation. "I love to play in front of an audience", Portal said. "It is like a metamorphosis. I feel bad, if I haven't played live for two weeks." The multi-instrumentalist from Bayonne, who had turned eighty just a few days before the interview, is a master of various clarinets and saxophones as well as the bandoneon, and is also recognised as a skilled composer. His wit and wisdom, and the youthful energy and curiosity he brings to his astonishing improvisations are only some of the reasons Portal has enjoyed such a fruitful and enduring career. It has seen him perform with John Surman, Pierre Favre, Dave Liebman, Martial Solal, Jack DeJohnette and many others.
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