Musiques de Cinemas is French composer Michel Portal's 1995 iconic album of original compositions inspired by the magical world of film and cinema. Playing bass clarinet and soprano saxophone, Michel is supported by such key players as guitarists Ralph Towner and Nguyen Le, trumpeter Paolo Fresu, and accordionist Richard Galliano, to name just a few.

'Musiques de Cinemas' is reissued here as a commemorative reminder of Portal's incredible contribution to European jazz, and to mark his passing on the 12th of February.

A chameleon of genres, the only common point of all the musical and sound experiments that Michel Portal (1935 -2026) has carried out is perhaps improvisation, and its requirement to continually put oneself in danger, and to throw oneself outside of the known. Even his film scores and his interpretations of classical music bear witness to this urgency. As a composer, saxophonist and clarinettist, Michel Portal is one of the most important architects of modern European jazz.

"A real shock! Portal does not cheat. He plays. He gives corn to grind to a tight-knit team who gives it in return to him - Jazz Magazine

"Michel Portal's rhythmic and melodic creations come from everywhere, from his travels, his attachment to jazz, his attention to what is sung and what is danced in the streets, from a search for elsewhere, they are songs for the future." - Le Monde