Michel Portal, the Unclassifiable Giant of French Jazz, Dies at 90

Published on February 16, 2026Updated on August 11, 2026

Key takeaways

Michel Portal died on February 12, 2026 in Paris, at the age of 90.
A clarinetist, saxophonist, and composer, he was considered one of the pioneers of European free jazz.
He won three César Awards for Best Film Music, two Sept d’or awards, and several Victoires du jazz awards.
His final album MP85 (2020) was honored at the 2021 Victoires du jazz.

At Woodbrass, we grow by listening to musicians who push boundaries. And if there was one artist who embodied that idea of absolute freedom, it was Michel Portal. The announcement of his passing on February 12 shook us. A virtuoso clarinetist, inspired saxophonist, film composer, and peerless improviser... Portal never accepted being labeled just one thing. His agent, Marion Piras, summed him up in a few fitting words: a “towering monument of modern jazz, of European jazz.” A look back at the career of an artist who spent his life inventing.

From Basque roots to the Paris Conservatory

Born on November 27, 1935, in Bayonne, Michel Portal discovered music at a very young age. From the age of eight, he studied the clarinet at the national music school in his hometown. There is a delightful story behind it: an Argentine musician passing through Bayonne encouraged his father to enroll him in bandoneon lessons first. The clarinet came later, and never left him again.

The young Portal then moved to Paris to attend the National Conservatory of Music, where he earned a first prize in clarinet in 1959. His classical training was solid and rigorous. But even then, he was itching to explore beyond it.

Good to know

Michel Portal was not limited to the clarinet and saxophone. He also played the bandoneon (an Argentine instrument related to the accordion) and the tárogató, a Hungarian single-reed wind instrument. This instrumental curiosity fueled his entire career.

The man who liberated European jazz

In the 1960s, Portal immersed himself in the avant-garde. He took part in works by Pierre Boulez, Luciano Berio, and Karlheinz Stockhausen — no small names. In 1965, he recorded the album Free Jazz, laying the foundations for a European jazz free from American conventions. He was awarded the Django Reinhardt Prize in 1968, confirming his status as a major figure.

In 1971, he founded the Michel Portal Unit, an ensemble open to European and American musicians that favored free improvisation. Its concerts at Châteauvallon and Uzeste became legendary. His Live à Châteauvallon (1976) remains a vivid record of that era.

But Portal rejected all boundaries. He became passionate about tango, teamed up with Prince's funk musicians for the album Minneapolis (2001), and explored rhythm’n’blues, world music, fusion... It was impossible to categorize him without him quickly moving on to another musical horizon.

Pro Tips

If you want to discover Michel Portal’s world, start with the album Baïlador (2010), recorded with Jack DeJohnette and Ambrose Akinmusire. It is a perfect distillation of his approach: jazz, lyricism, and total freedom. Then follow it up with MP85 to hear his energy still intact at age 85.

Three César Awards and a career in film

Michel Portal also left his mark on the seventh art. He composed soundtracks for numerous films and television movies, collaborating with directors such as Daniel Vigne, Nagisa Ôshima, and Christian de Chalonge. His scores earned him:

César Award for Best Music for Le Retour de Martin Guerre (1983)
César Award for Best Music for Les Cavaliers de l’orage (1985)
César Award for Best Music for Champ d’honneur (1988)
Two Sept d’or awards for L’Ami Giono and Eugénie Grandet

And that is not all: Grand Prix national de la musique in 1983, Victoire de la musique classique in 2006, Victoires du jazz in 2007 and 2021, Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters... The list is staggering.

MP85: a final album like a testament

In 2020, at age 85, Portal released MP85, produced and arranged by his longtime collaborator Bojan Z. The album brings together a multicultural quintet featuring German trombonist Nils Wogram, double bassist Bruno Chevillon, and Belgian drummer Lander Gyselinck. The result? Wild energy, vibrant and uncompromising jazz.

The album won Best Instrumental Jazz Album at the 2021 Victoires du jazz. Portal proved one last time that he had lost none of his creative fire. In 2019, the city of Bayonne had already honored its gifted son by renaming its municipal theater the Théâtre Michel-Portal.

Tip

Michel Portal’s approach is a source of inspiration for every musician: never limit yourself to a single style. If you play clarinet or saxophone, explore jazz, classical music, and free improvisation. It is by stepping outside your comfort zone that you will find your own voice.

An immense legacy for French music

With the passing of Michel Portal, an entire chapter of European jazz and contemporary French music has lost one of its pillars. An exceptional clarinetist, brilliant improviser, and composer honored with the highest distinctions, he embodied the idea that music has no boundaries — of genre, style, or generation.

Bayonne Mayor Jean-René Etchegaray paid tribute to this “immense clarinetist, a friend to the greatest musicians of his time.” For musicians and enthusiasts like us, he remains the perfect example of what curiosity and artistic freedom can create when driven by extraordinary talent. Rest in peace, Maestro.