(born 24 February 1932 in Paris, France)
died 26 January 2019 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France)
R.I.P.: Michel Legrand.
An absolute GENIUS -- in the same level of J.S. Bach, for example -- is gone. One of the greatest arrangers and composers in music history. And a fabulous pianist too. I've met him in person for the first time in 1983. Had the chance to attend several of his concerts (two of them in Brazil at the time of the Moliere Award, with Ron McClure on bass and Christiane Legrand singing.) Unforgettable moments in my life.
I treasure his huge discography, specially "Legrand Jazz" (with Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Art Farmer, Herbie Mann etc), "Twenty Songs Of The Century" (a lesson in orchestration feat. Toots, Airto, Gene Bertoncini, Eddie Daniels), the splendid albums for RCA in the 70s ("Live At Jimmy's," "Legrand Live" (with Randy Brecker, Phil Woods, Ron Carter, Grady Tate, Joe Beck), "The Concert Legrand," the Grammy-winning "Images" with Phil Woods, "Le Jazz Grand" with Gerry Mulligan, Jon Faddis and Portinho) and such landmark soundtracks as "The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg," "F For Fake," "Pieces Of Dreams," "Summer of '42," "The Other Side Of Midnight" + dozens of others.) He personified a kind of musical sophistication and elegance that is gone, that's the true.
(Arnaldo DeSouteiro & Michel Legrand in 1983)
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