Lalo Schifrin

Lalo Schifrin (born 1932) is best known today for his film soundtracks, in particular the memorable ‘Mission Impossible’ theme, written for the 1960s TV series, rather than the movie franchise. Before achieving success (and six Oscar nominations) as a film composer, however, he had an impressive CV as a jazz pianist and arranger. Born in Buenos Aires he is, along with Gato Barbieri, Argentina’s most famous jazz musician.

He studied piano from the age of 6 with Enrique Barenboim, soon to be the father of the future renowned concert pianist and conductor, Daniel Barenboim. He secured a scholarship to study at the Paris Conservatoire with the renowned educator Nadia Boulanger, a disciple of Ravel and Faure, who also taught Quincy Jones, Elliott Carter, Aaron Copland, Philip Glass, Darius Milhaud, John Eliot Gardiner and Michel Legrand. Another ex-Boulanger student at the time was fellow Argentine, Astor Piazzolla, with whom Schifrin played in Paris in 1955, before returning to Argentina. Here he started a jazz orchestra, which has been described as Argentina’s first, and which included saxophonist Gato Barbieri (on alto at the time). It was this band that Dizzy Gillespie heard in Buenos Aires, while on a state department tour of South America. This led to Schifrin composing a 40-minute suite for Gillespie’s big band, called ‘Gillespiana’, which he recorded in 1960 with Lalo Schifrin on piano, and which saw a live premiere at Carnegie Hall. He was soon a member of Gillespie’s regular quintet and stayed with the band until 1963.

While with Gillespie, Schifrin released a number of albums in his own name, many capitalising on the bossa nova boom that had swept America at the time. He also arranged for Stan Getz, Jimmy Smith and Sarah Vaughan. His impressive composing and arranging skills led to a rapid stream of commissions from Hollywood, and a resulting move to Los Angeles. The ‘Mission Impossible’ theme was filed in 1966, then came the soundtracks for (among many others) Cool Hand Luke (1967), Bullitt (1968), Dirty Harry (1971), Enter The Dragon (1973), and so on. Jazz suffused most of Schifrin’s soundtracks, and he returned to jazz in the 1990s with some ‘Jazz Meets The Symphony’ concerts with guests Ray Brown and Grady Tate.

Key Recordings:
Dizzy on the French Riviera (Philips 1962) with Dizzy Gillespie
Bullitt – Movie Soundtrack (Warner 1969)