Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932)[1] is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger, and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Latin American musical elements alongside traditional orchestrations. He is a five-time Grammy Award winner; he has been nominated for six Academy Awards and four Emmy Awards.
In 2019, he received an honorary Oscar "in recognition of his unique musical style, compositional integrity and influential contributions to the art of film scoring."
Early life
Schifrin was born in Buenos Aires to a Jewish family.[2] His father, Luis Schifrin, led the second violin section of the orchestra at the Teatro Colón for three decades.[1] At the age of six, Schifrin began a six-year course of study on piano with Enrique Barenboim, the father of pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim. Lalo Schifrin shares a familial link to American alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin. Schifrin began studying piano with the Greek-Russian expatriate Andreas Karalis, former head of the Kyiv Conservatory, and harmony with Argentine composer Juan Carlos Paz. During this time Schifrin also became interested in jazz.
Although Schifrin studied sociology and law at the University of Buenos Aires, it was music that captured his attention.[1] At age 20, he successfully applied for a scholarship to the Conservatoire de Paris. At night, he played jazz in the Paris clubs. In 1955, Schifrin played piano with Argentine bandoneon giant Ástor Piazzolla and represented his country at the International Jazz Festival in Paris.
As jazz composer
After returning home to Argentina in his twenties, Schifrin formed a jazz orchestra, a 16-piece band that became part of a popular weekly variety show on Buenos Aires TV. He also began accepting other film, television and radio assignments. In 1956, he met Dizzy Gillespie and offered to write an extended work for Gillespie's big band. Schifrin completed the work, Gillespiana, in 1958,[1] which was recorded in 1960. Later in 1958, Schifrin began working as an arranger for Xavier Cugat's popular Latin dance orchestra.
While in New York in 1960, Schifrin again met Gillespie, who had by this time disbanded his big band for financial reasons. Gillespie invited Schifrin to fill the vacant piano chair in his quintet. Schifrin immediately accepted and moved to New York City. Schifrin wrote a second extended composition for Gillespie, The New Continent, which was recorded in 1962.
On 26 May 1963, he recorded an album, Buenos Aires Blues, with Duke Ellington’s alto saxophonist, Johnny Hodges. Schifrin wrote two compositions for the album; Dreary Blues and the title track B. A. Blues. In the same year Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which had Schifrin under contract, offered the composer his first Hollywood film assignment with the African adventure Rhino![1] Schifrin moved to Los Angeles and became a U.S. resident in 1963. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1969.[3]
Film scores
One of Schifrin's most recognizable and enduring compositions is the theme music for the long-running TV series Mission: Impossible. It is a distinctive tune written in the uncommon 5/4 time signature. Similarly Schifrin's theme for the hugely successful Mannix private eye TV show was composed a year later in a 3/4 waltz time; Schifrin composed several other jazzy and bluesy numbers over the years as additional incidental music for the show.
Schifrin's "Tar Sequence" from his Cool Hand Luke score (also written in 5/4) was the longtime theme for the Eyewitness News broadcasts on New York station WABC-TV and other ABC affiliates, as well as Nine News in Australia. CBS Television used part of the theme of his St. Ives soundtrack for its golf broadcasts in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Schifrin's score for the 1968 film Coogan's Bluff was the beginning of a long association with Clint Eastwood and director Don Siegel. Schifrin's strong jazz-blues riffs were evident in Dirty Harry. In 1973 he wrote the score for "Enter the Dragon" with funky wah-pedal sound.[4]
Schifrin's working score for 1973's The Exorcist was rejected by the film's director, William Friedkin. Schifrin had written six minutes of difficult and heavy music for the initial film trailer, but audiences were reportedly frightened by the combination of sights and sounds. As reported by Schifrin in an interview, Warner Bros. executives told Friedkin to instruct Schifrin to tone it down with softer music, but Friedkin did not relay the message. Schifrin also said that working on the film was one of the most unpleasant experiences in his life.[5] He later reused the compositions in other scores.
In 1976 he released a single called "Jaws", a version of the John Williams theme from the Universal Pictures film Jaws, on CTI (Creed Taylor Incorporated) records. The single spent nine weeks in the UK chart, peaking at number 14. He also composed the 1976 fanfare for Paramount Pictures, which was used mainly for their home video label and was adapted for the television division 11 years later until it was renamed to CBS Paramount Television (now CBS Studios) in 2006.
In 1981, he wrote the music for the 1981 American slapstick comedy film Caveman.
In the 1990s, he wrote many of the arrangements for The Three Tenors concerts.
In the 1998 film Tango, Schifrin returned to tango music, with which he had grown familiar while working as Astor Piazzolla's pianist in the mid-1950s. He brought traditional tango songs to the film, as well as introducing compositions of his own, in which tango is fused with jazz elements.[6]
Schifrin made a cameo appearance in Red Dragon (2002) as an orchestra conductor.
He is also widely sampled in hip-hop and trip-hop songs, such as Heltah Skeltah's "Prowl" or Portishead's "Sour Times". Both songs sample Schifrin's "Danube Incident", one of many themes he composed for specific episodes of the Mission: Impossible TV series.
In 2003, Schifrin was commissioned to compose a classical work entitled Symphonic Impressions of Oman by Sultan Qaboos bin Said.[8] The Sultan himself was particularly enthusiastic about the pipe organ and an avid classical music fan.[9]
On April 23, 2007, Lalo Schifrin presented a concert of film music for the Festival du Film Jules Verne Aventures (Festival Jules Verne), at Le Grand Rex theatre in Paris, France – Europe's biggest movie theater. This was recorded by festival leaders for a 73-and-a-half-minute CD named Lalo Schifrin: Le Concert à Paris.
In 2010, a fictionalised account of Lalo Schifrin's creation of the "Theme from Mission: Impossible" tune was featured in a Lipton TV commercial aired in a number of countries around the world.[10]
The Argentine composer received an honorary Oscar in November 2018, in recognition of his successful career, the Hollywood Academy announced in a press release.[12]
Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed nuevo tango, incorporating elements from jazz and classical music. A virtuoso bandoneonist, he regularly performed his own compositions with a variety of ensembles. In 1992, American music critic Stephen Holden described Piazzolla as "the world's foremost composer of Tango music".
Leandro "Gato" Barbieri was an Argentine jazz tenor saxophonist who rose to fame during the free jazz movement in the 1960s and is known for his Latin jazz recordings of the 1970s. His nickname, Gato, is Spanish for "cat".
Francisco Aguabella was an Afro-Cuban percussionist whose career spanned folk, jazz, and dance bands. He was a prolific session musician and recorded seven albums as a leader.
Carlos Alberto Franzetti is a composer and arranger from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Def Jam's Rush Hour Soundtrack is the soundtrack to Brett Ratner's 1998 action comedy film Rush Hour. It was released on September 15, 1998, through Rush Associated Labels and consisted of hip hop and R&B music. The soundtrack was a huge success, peaking at 5 on the Billboard 200 and 2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and spawned the number 1 single "How Deep Is Your Love". The soundtrack was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on October 15, 1998, and platinum on January 21, 1999.
"Theme from Mission: Impossible" is the theme tune of the TV series Mission: Impossible (1966–1973). The theme was written and composed by Argentine composer Lalo Schifrin and has since gone on to appear in several other works of the Mission: Impossible franchise, including the 1988 TV series, the film series, and the video game series.
There's a Whole Lalo Schifrin Goin' On is an album by Argentine composer, pianist and conductor Lalo Schifrin recorded in 1968 and released on the Dot label.
Ins and Outs is an album by Argentine composer, pianist and conductor Lalo Schifrin recorded in 1982 and released on the Palo Alto label, the same year.
Jazz Meets the Symphony is an album by Argentine-American composer, pianist and conductor Lalo Schifrin with bassist Ray Brown, drummer Grady Tate and the London Philharmonic Orchestra recorded in 1992 and released on the Atlantic label in 1993.
Music from Mission: Impossible is an album featuring music composed and conducted by Lalo Schifrin recorded in 1967 and released on the Dot label. The music on this album is re-recorded and extended scores were originally commissioned for the TV series Mission: Impossible.
More Mission Impossible is an album featuring music composed and conducted by Lalo Schifrin recorded in 1968 and released on the Paramount label. As with Music from Mission: Impossible (1967) the music on this album is rerecorded and extended scores that were originally commissioned for the TV series Mission: Impossible.
Mannix is an album featuring music composed and conducted by Lalo Schifrin which was recorded in 1968 and released on the Paramount label. As with Music from Mission: Impossible (1967) and More Mission: Impossible the music on this album is rerecorded and extended scores that were originally commissioned for the TV series Mannix.
Free Ride is an album by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie that was composed, arranged and conducted by Lalo Schifrin, recorded in 1977 and released on the Pablo label. The album represents the first collaboration between the two since The New Continent in 1962.
Horacio Malvicino was an Argentine jazz and tango electric guitarist and composer who played for many years with the tango musician Ástor Piazzolla in several of his ensembles.
Metamorphosis: Jazz Meets the Symphony #4 is an album by Argentine composer, pianist and conductor Lalo Schifrin with bassist Ray Brown, drummer Jeff Hamilton, trumpeter James Morrison, percussionist Francisco Aguabella and the London Symphony Orchestra recorded in 1998 and released on Schifrin's Aleph label.
This is the discography of Argentine-American jazz musician Lalo Schifrin.
Intersections: Jazz Meets the Symphony #5 is an album by Argentine composer, pianist and conductor Lalo Schifrin with a jazz quintet, the WDR Big Band, and the WDR Radio Orchestra of Cologne recorded in 2000 and released on the Aleph label in 2001. The AllMusic review of the album noted that only Duke Ellington and Woody Herman had previously combined a big band with a symphony orchestra. Joining Schifrin in the quintet were James Morrison on trumpet, fluegelhorn, and trombone, David Sánchez on soprano and tenor saxes, Christian McBride on bass, and Jeff Hamilton on drums. The album, the fifth in Schifrin's highly acclaimed "Jazz Meets the Symphony" series, was recorded before live audiences at two concerts in the Klaus-Von-Bismarck-Saal in Cologne, Germany, and an edited version was later broadcast on WDR radio and television.
Invocation: Jazz Meets the Symphony No. 7 is an album by Argentine-American composer, pianist, and conductor Lalo Schifrin with a jazz quartet and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra recorded in Prague, Czech Republic in 2010 and released on the Aleph label in 2011. The album was the seventh in Schifrin's highly acclaimed "Jazz Meets the Symphony" series. Unlike some others in the series, the album was not recorded before a live audience.
Gillespiana In Cologne is a live album by Argentine-American composer, pianist and conductor Lalo Schifrin with soloists and the WDR Big Band recorded in-concert in Cologne, Germany in 1996. The concert was also broadcast on German radio and television. The album was released to inaugurate Schifrin's Aleph Records label in 1998. It was the first recording of Schifrin's classic jazz suite since the debut recording by Dizzy Gillespie in 1960.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is the score album to the 2011 film Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. The fourth installment in the Mission: Impossible film series, starring Tom Cruise, and the sequel to Mission: Impossible III (2006), the film is directed by Brad Bird and featured musical score composed by Michael Giacchino, who scored for Mission: Impossible III (2006), and also for Bird's previous animated films, The Incredibles (2004) and Ratatouille (2007). Varèse Sarabande released the soundtrack on December 13, 2011.
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