Composer
Martial Solal
Born 23 August 1927 · Algiers, Algeria
Martial Solal, born in Algiers in 1927, is a jazz pianist and composer who settled in Paris in 1950. He is known to film audiences for scoring Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless (1960). He wrote music for more than twenty films alongside a long career as a leading European jazz musician.
Key films
Breathless (1960)On Cinespective
Godard's landmark New Wave debut, with a jazz score by Solal that helped define its modern feel.
Léon Morin, Priest (1961)
A prominent early-1960s French drama that Solal scored, showing his range beyond the New Wave.
Two Men in Manhattan (1959)
An early film score, written for a New York-set French crime drama with a jazz sensibility.
Actors (2000)
A later-career credit showing his film-composing work continued decades after his 1960s screen scores.
Key awards
No major awards are documented here.
On Cinespective
Full filmography · 8
- 1959Two Men in ManhattanComposer
- 1960BreathlessComposer
- 1961Léon Morin, PriestComposer
- 1962A Touch of TreasonComposer
- 1964BackfireComposer
- 1983Ballade à blancComposer
- 2000ActorsComposer
- 2006Play Your Own Thing: A Story of Jazz in Europe · as SelfActor
Filmography data from TMDB. The profile text is a draft written for Cinespective.