Claudia Solal

 

Claudia Solal ©Alexandra Lebon
Claudia Solal ©Alexandra Lebon

Claudia Solal is an untamed and adventurous musician. As a singer, songwriter, she has been performing for over 20 years in France and abroad, on the most prestigious venues and festivals. Her singular collaborations, her numerous artistic experiences played a large part in building a unique and captivating vocal language, at the crossroads of written material and improvised songs. Off shore songs, as she likes to call them.

After her highly acclaimed first two recordings “My own Foolosophy” (quartet with Baptiste Trotignon, 1998), and “Porridge Days” (duet with Benjamin Moussay, 2005 – Charles Cros Academy’s Coup de cœur), she releases “Room Service” in 2010 (ffff télérama), with Spoonbox quartet. Her third album in collaboration with Benjamin Moussay, Butter in my Brain, is unanimously celebrated (2017 – ffff Télérama, 4 stars Jazzmagazine). It is nominated at the Victoires du Jazz 2018.

Much in demand as soloist and sidewoman, Claudia recently has been heard in Yves Rousseau’s Poète, vos papiers – tribute to Léo Ferré in tandem with singer Jeanne Added, with Françoise Toullec’s la Banquise, with pianist Jean-Marie Machado (Les Ames Papillon 5tet / Danzas Orchestra), in Eleanora Suite with clarinetist Jean-Marc Foltz and violinist Régis Huby, in duet with saxophonist Jean-Charles Richard, in duet with her father Martial Solal, or with his Newdecaband, with la Théorie du Chaos (with Médéric Collignon and Lê Xuy Xuân), a trio of vocal improvisation.

She currently works in a trio with Didier Petit and Philippe Foch (Les Voyageurs de l’Espace / Charles Cros Academy’s Grand Prix 2017), – with whom she toured in China in 2016 and 2017, and in Finland and Baltic Countries in 2018, with french american quartet Antichamber Music (Katie Young, Lou Mallozzi and Benoît Delbecq), Equivoxe duet with contemporary singer Valérie Philippin, in duet with clarinetist Sylvain Kassap Moldaves !, with Diego Imbert’s Le Vent Nocturne (on poems by Apollinaire) for winds and strings… A duet recording with Benoît Delbecq will be released in 2019.

She’s been teaching since 1998, and has run the jazz singing and improvisation class at Strasbourg’s Conservatory CRR since 2005. She gives workshops and master classes, and composes for TV and theater, and lends her voice for radio and movies.