Lalo Schifrin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lalo Schifrin |
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Schifrin in 2006
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Boris Claudio Schifrin |
| Born | June 21, 1932 Buenos Aires, Argentina |
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| Years active | 1950–present |
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Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American musician. He is a famous composer, arranger, and conductor. He is best known for creating music for many movies and TV shows since the 1950s.
Lalo Schifrin mixes jazz and Latin American sounds with traditional orchestra music. He has won five Grammy Awards. He was also nominated for six Academy Awards (Oscars) and four Emmy Awards.
Some of his most famous music includes the themes from Mission: Impossible and Mannix. He also wrote music for movies like Cool Hand Luke (1967), Bullitt (1968), Enter the Dragon (1973), and the Rush Hour movies (1998–2007). He worked a lot with actor Clint Eastwood on films like the Dirty Harry series. In 2019, he received an honorary Oscar for his amazing music.
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Early Life and Music Journey
Lalo Schifrin was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His father, Luis Schifrin, was a lead violinist in a famous orchestra. Lalo started playing piano at age six. He studied with Enrique Barenboim, whose son Daniel also became a famous musician.
Lalo also learned from other great teachers. He became very interested in jazz music. Even though he studied law at the University of Buenos Aires, music was his true passion.
When he was 20, he won a scholarship to study music in Paris, France. At night, he played jazz in clubs. In 1955, he played piano with the famous Argentine musician Astor Piazzolla.
Becoming a Jazz Composer
After returning to Argentina, Schifrin started his own jazz orchestra. This 16-piece band became popular on TV. He also began writing music for films, TV, and radio.
In 1956, he met the legendary jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. Schifrin offered to write a long piece for Gillespie's big band. This piece, called Gillespiana, was recorded in 1960. Later, Schifrin worked as an arranger for Xavier Cugat's Latin dance orchestra.
In 1960, Schifrin moved to New York City. He joined Dizzy Gillespie's jazz quintet as the pianist. He wrote another major piece for Gillespie called The New Continent. In 1963, he recorded an album with jazz saxophonist Johnny Hodges. That same year, Schifrin moved to Los Angeles to start working on Hollywood films. He became a U.S. citizen in 1969.
Famous Film and TV Music
One of Lalo Schifrin's most famous pieces is the theme music for the TV show Mission: Impossible. This unique tune is written in a special rhythm called 5/4 time. The rhythm even sounds like Morse Code for "M" and "I"!
He also wrote the catchy theme for the TV show Mannix. Schifrin's music for Cool Hand Luke was used for many years as the theme for Eyewitness News in New York and other places.
Schifrin began working with actor Clint Eastwood and director Don Siegel on films like Coogan's Bluff and Dirty Harry. His jazz-blues style was perfect for these movies. He also wrote the well-known music for the film Bullitt. In 1973, he created the funky music for "Enter the Dragon."
In 1976, he released a jazz version of the Jaws movie theme. He also composed the famous fanfare music for Paramount Pictures that was used for many years.
In the 1990s, he arranged music for the famous The Three Tenors concerts. In 1998, he returned to his roots with the film Tango. He blended traditional tango with jazz, showing his unique style.
Lalo Schifrin also wrote the main theme for the video game Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. He even made a small appearance as a conductor in the movie Red Dragon (2002).
His music has been used in many hip-hop and trip-hop songs. For example, Portishead's "Sour Times" samples his "Danube Incident" from Mission: Impossible.
In 2003, he wrote a classical piece called Symphonic Impressions of Oman for the Sultan of Oman.
Recent Collaborations and Events
On April 23, 2007, Lalo Schifrin performed a concert of his film music in Paris, France. This concert was recorded and released as an album.
In 2010, a TV commercial for Lipton tea showed a fun story about how Lalo Schifrin supposedly created the Mission: Impossible theme. The hip-hop group Blue Scholars even named a song after him in 2011.
In 2024, Lalo Schifrin teamed up with Rod Schejtman, a talented young composer. They are creating a big, 35-minute symphony dedicated to their home country, Argentina. This symphony will blend cinematic and classical music. It tells the story of Argentina's history and offers a message of hope.
The symphony will premiere at the historic Teatro Colón in Argentina on April 5, 2025. This special event will also feature a symphonic version of the Mission: Impossible theme. It will be released just before the new Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning movie.
Awards and Recognition
Lalo Schifrin has won five Grammy Awards and has been nominated for many more. He also won a CableACE Award. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which is a great honor.
In 2016, his Mission: Impossible theme was added to the Grammy Award Hall of Fame. In November 2018, he received an honorary Oscar from the Hollywood Academy. This award recognized his unique musical style and important contributions to film music.
See also
- Lalo Schifrin discography
- List of music arrangers
- List of jazz arrangers
In Spanish: Lalo Schifrin para niños
