Happy Birthday Martial Solal

Cultchas crew greets its favorite artist Martial Solal a happy 82nd birthday!!!

Born on August 23rd of French-Jewish parents in Algiers. Martial Solal began establishing his name when he moved to Paris in the fifties playing piano with American expatriates and Europe's best jazz musicians.

The sixties became pivotal to his success. This was a period marked by a string of key recordings and began writing film scores starting off with Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless. 

On one account, Oscar Peterson gave up performance dates in France to watch this man swing. 

Solal's decision to play to a wider audience across the Atlantic gained him more favorable attention to jazz musicians and critics.

Duke Ellington:
Martial Solal has, in abundance, those indispensables of the musicians' craft: sensitivity, creativity, and a prodigious technique. Most of all, he sparkles with refreshment -- and for a jazz musician to sound refreshing in 1963 is no ordinary thing! 

Dizzy Gillespie:
It is remarkable to discover that an artist so far removed from the roots of jazz as Algeria and France can adapt himself so magnificently, and can create from the soul so basically as Martial Solal.

Martin Williams:
One of the best jazz musicians in the world. 

Lee Jeske:
Martial Solal has it all: heart, brains, chops. Calling him the greatest pianist in Europe is like calling Frank Sinatra the greatest crooner from New Jersey. Ridiculous! 



Merci de faire la musique merveilleuse. Joyeux anniversaire monsieur Solal!!! 


(1) Original photo by Mirko R. Boscolo, re-taken and cropped from Bluesine LP sleeve released by Soul Note Italy

(2) Video from youtube by HLORG

Montezuma II's Golden Goblet Delight

Rainy Saturday evening calls for a warm and relaxing beverage. Several drinks come into mind:

a. Coffee - Not tonight. Cultchas secret coffee, by design, is a suitable alternative to psychostimulant drugs.
b. Tea - Not tonight. Its diuretic property would be bothersome for playing records.
c. Chocolate - Ting! :) Montezuma's divine drink.

Cacao derived products are always associated to fun times and good memories. Could the controversial study on chocolate be true? It states that our brains produce a natural substance called Anandamide. This chemical, researchers from Neurosciences Institute in San Diego say is capable of simulating the mental effects of cannabis.

While the theory is undeniably interesting to pursue, this is not the time to probe Cheech and Chong science. It's a weekend to enjoy music and a cup of hot chocolate.

Through the kindness of one cultchas comrade, packs of sweetened Pantagruel were shipped here at mbase. This Portuguese gold in 200 gram bars is made by Imperial, a brand respected for its culinary chocolates.

Preparation for this drink does not require iron chef skills. Just break the bar into small portions and let it melt in warm milk. Add, stir, and melt according to taste..... Pantagruel!!! Chocolate bars with gargantuan taste!

Cultchas crew shouts out giant thanks to Montezuma II and Hernan Cortes for spreading the joys of this delicious beverage to the world!!
 





1. According to William H. Prescott, the Aztec emperor, Montezuma II, took no other beverage than the cold "chocolatl". A potation of chocolate, flavored with vanilla and spices, reduced to a froth of the consistency of honey, and gradually dissolved in the mouth.
2. Photo taken in cultchas kitchen at mbase