Claude Bolling
Encyclopedia
Claude Bolling is a renowned French
jazz pianist
, composer
, arranger, and occasional actor
.
He was born in Cannes
, studied at the Nice Conservatory
, then in Paris. A child prodigy, by age 14 he was playing jazz piano professionally, with Lionel Hampton
, Roy Eldridge
, and Kenny Clarke
. Bolling's books on jazz technique show that he did not delve far beyond bebop into much avant garde jazz. He was a major part of the traditional jazz revival in the late 1960s, and he became friends with Oscar Peterson
.
He has written music for over one hundred film
s, mostly French, starting with the score for a 1957 documentary about the Cannes Film Festival
, and including the films Borsalino
(1970), and California Suite
(1978).
Bolling is also noted for a series of "crossover" collaborations with classical musicians. His Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio with Jean-Pierre Rampal
, a mix of Baroque elegance with modern swing, has been a top seller for many years, and was followed up by other works in the same vein. It was particularly popular in the United States, at the top of the hit parade for two years after its release and on billboard top 40 for 530 weeks, roughly ten years.
Following his work with Rampal, Bolling went on to work with many other musicians, from different genres, including Alexandre Lagoya
, Pinchas Zukerman
, Maurice André
, and Yo-Yo Ma
. He has also worked with, and performed tributes to many others, including Lionel Hampton
, Duke Ellington
, Stéphane Grappelli
, Django Reinhardt
, Oscar Peterson
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
jazz pianist
Jazz piano
Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instrument's combined melodic and harmonic capabilities...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, arranger, and occasional actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
He was born in Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
, studied at the Nice Conservatory
Conservatory of Nice
The Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Nice is the regional music and dance conservatory for Nice, founded in 1916.-Alumni:* Maurice Jaubert composer of film music.* Claude Bolling, French jazz pianist....
, then in Paris. A child prodigy, by age 14 he was playing jazz piano professionally, with Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
, Roy Eldridge
Roy Eldridge
Roy David Eldridge , nicknamed "Little Jazz" was an American jazz trumpet player. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos and his strong influence on Dizzy Gillespie mark him as one of the most exciting musicians of the swing era and a...
, and Kenny Clarke
Kenny Clarke
Kenny Clarke , born Kenneth Spearman Clarke, nicknamed "Klook" and later known as Liaqat Ali Salaam, was a jazz drummer and an early innovator of the bebop style of drumming...
. Bolling's books on jazz technique show that he did not delve far beyond bebop into much avant garde jazz. He was a major part of the traditional jazz revival in the late 1960s, and he became friends with Oscar Peterson
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career...
.
He has written music for over one hundred film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s, mostly French, starting with the score for a 1957 documentary about the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
, and including the films Borsalino
Borsalino (film)
Borsalino is a 1970 gangster film directed by Jacques Deray and starring Alain Delon, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Catherine Rouvel. It was entered into the 20th Berlin International Film Festival....
(1970), and California Suite
California Suite (film)
California Suite is a 1978 American comedy film directed by Herbert Ross. The screenplay by Neil Simon is based on his play of the same title...
(1978).
Bolling is also noted for a series of "crossover" collaborations with classical musicians. His Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio with Jean-Pierre Rampal
Jean-Pierre Rampal
Jean-Pierre Louis Rampal was a French flautist. He has been personally "credited with returning to the flute the popularity as a solo classical instrument it had not held since the 18th century."-Early years:...
, a mix of Baroque elegance with modern swing, has been a top seller for many years, and was followed up by other works in the same vein. It was particularly popular in the United States, at the top of the hit parade for two years after its release and on billboard top 40 for 530 weeks, roughly ten years.
Following his work with Rampal, Bolling went on to work with many other musicians, from different genres, including Alexandre Lagoya
Alexandre Lagoya
Alexandre Lagoya was a classical guitarist. His early career included boxing and guitar, and as he cites on the sleeve of his 1981 Columbia album, his parents hoped he would outgrow his predilection for both....
, Pinchas Zukerman
Pinchas Zukerman
Pinchas Zukerman is a world-renowned violinist, violist, and conductor. He is considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th and 21st centuries, and his ongoing 45-year career has seen him perform with the world's best-known orchestras and record over 100 works...
, Maurice André
Maurice André
Maurice André is a French trumpeter, active in the classical music field.-Biography:He is a classical virtuoso trumpeter, born in Alès, France in the Cévennes into a mining family. His father was an amateur musician....
, and Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma is an American cellist, virtuoso, and orchestral composer. He has received multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011...
. He has also worked with, and performed tributes to many others, including Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
, Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Stéphane Grappelli
Stéphane Grappelli
Stéphane Grappelli was a French jazz violinist who founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands....
, Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt was a pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer who invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique that has since become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture...
, Oscar Peterson
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career...
.
Works
- Claude Bolling Plays Duke Ellington (1959)
- Cat Anderson, Claude Bolling And Co. (1965)
- Original Ragtime (1966)
- Original Boogie Woogie (1968)
- Original Piano Blues (1969)
- Original Jazz Classics (1970)
- Original Piano Greats (1972)
- Swing Session (1973)
- Jazz Party (1975)
- With the Help of My Friends (1975)
- Keep Swingin' Volume 4 (1975)
- Suite for Flute and Jazz PianoSuite for Flute and Jazz PianoSuite for Flute and Jazz Piano is a "crossover" composition by the jazz pianist and composer Claude Bolling. The composition, originally written in 1973, is a suite of seven songs, written for a classical flute, and a jazz piano trio .The suite was recorded in 1975 by Bolling, classical flautist...
(1975) - Hot Sounds (1976)
- Concerto for Guitar and Jazz Piano Trio (1975)
- Suite for Violin and Jazz Piano Trio (1977)
- California Suite (1978)
- Jazz Gala 79 (1979)
- Just For Fun (1980)
- Picnic Suite for Guitar, Flute and Jazz Piano Trio (1980)
- Toot Suite (1981)
- Claude Bolling (1981)
- Reds (1981)
- Suite for Chamber Orchestra and Jazz Piano Trio (1983)
- Suite for Cello and Jazz Piano Trio (1984)
- Jazz à la Francaise (1984)
- Live at the Meridien (1985)
- Suite No. 2 for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio (1987)
- Nuances (1988)
- Sonatas for Two Pianos (1989)
- Cross Over U.S.A. (1993)
- Enchanting Versailles - Strictly Classical (1994)
- A Drum is a Woman (1997)
- Tribute To The Piano Greats (2003)