There's A Whole Lalo Schifrin Goin' On

December 2, 2008 8:11 AM

Argentine-born pianist, conductor and composer Lalo Schifrin might be best-known for his Mission Impossible theme (previously), but the maestro has graced over seventy films and television shows (not to mention his non-soundtrack work) with his unique mix of jazz, funk and r&b.

Dirty Harry
Mannix
The Liquidator
The President's Analyst
Enter The Dragon
The Dead Pool
Che!
The Partners
Blindfold
Rush Hour
Rush Hour 2
Coogan's Bluff (music starts at 2:33)
THX 1138
Bullitt
The Brotherhood (3:08)
Magnum Force
Cool Hand Luke
The Venetian Affair (1:24)
Rollercoaster
Sudden Impact

And a personal favourite of mine: Kelly's Heroes

posted by The Card Cheat (21 comments total)

Oh Jesus, for a moment I thought this was going to be about him dying.

Lalo is a distant cousin.
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:19 AM on December 2, 2008

Two thumbs up - excellent!
posted by davidmsc at 8:33 AM on December 2, 2008

I was just watching THX 1138 the other day - it's worth watching the special features to see Walter Murch explaining the temp-track to finished score process with Lalo Schifrin. Apparently Murch would loop and reverse and slow down recordings of classical tracks in the temp soundtrack, and Lalo Schifrin would transcribe the result and turn it into the (awesome) score.
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 8:36 AM on December 2, 2008

I too was like "why are you telling me this? oh noes!", so glad its a happy tribute and not a post-hummus dooberywhatsit. (checks iPod) yep, you've got all the ones I've got.
posted by Molesome at 8:36 AM on December 2, 2008

I love Schifrin's scores, but the one I remember the most is his score for the original The Amityville Horror. Still scares the bejeesus out of me.

La la, la la
posted by WolfDaddy at 8:41 AM on December 2, 2008

I made myself an Enter the Dragon ringtone.

Wha-bah!
posted by adamdschneider at 8:44 AM on December 2, 2008

Eh, he's no Ennio Morricone.

Then again, if there were more Morricones, a lot of composers would be out of work. The man is amazingly prolific, though it seems he's slowed down a bit in the past decade.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:47 AM on December 2, 2008

I still think Scorpio's Theme from Dirty Harry is one of the funkiest pieces of villian music ever. Still, for me, the Bullitt theme will always be the best.
posted by Gisela at 9:24 AM on December 2, 2008

Props to The Card Cheat for awesomest post title of the day. Also, awesome content.
posted by yiftach at 9:37 AM on December 2, 2008

Schifrin is an amazing arranger and orchestrator, but perhaps the most overlooked aspect of his brilliance is his pianistic ability. I heard him live, playing and conducting at a Dizzy Gillespie tribute concert at NJPAC some years ago, and his playing was absolutely astounding, with chops galore, great ideas and tasteful clarity. He could have made a successful career out of that alone; he's that good.
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 9:46 AM on December 2, 2008

A recent effort is his score for the graphic novel, Spooks. Yes, you read that right -- a graphic novel.

Written by his son...
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 9:52 AM on December 2, 2008

Whew! I too thought this was going to be about him dying! My exposure to Lalo began by watching Enter The Dragon as a kid; that score still resounds with me today. I love all of his work but get a great thrill when I am cooking and the Magnum Force theme comes on! Ahhh ahhha ahhhha aha ahh ah ah !

Also, There's A Whole Lalo Schifrin Going On is a great record.
posted by Asbestos McPinto at 10:02 AM on December 2, 2008

+1000 internets to anyone who can find anything from his rejected score for the exorcist.
posted by tylerfulltilt at 10:14 AM on December 2, 2008

> Yes, you read that right -- a graphic novel.

Schifrin can do it all...a few issues of Wax Poetics ago there was an interview in which he stated he was working on something with Snoop Doog. Don't think anything came of it, but Snoop was inspired.
posted by The Card Cheat at 10:22 AM on December 2, 2008

Make that, uh, Snoop Dogg.
posted by The Card Cheat at 10:23 AM on December 2, 2008

Apparently, there are some parts of Schifrin's take on the Exorcist available in a special Remastered & Restored format. Soundtrack Collector lists a few soundtrack versions with his tracks, as discussed here. It doesn't sound like the full soundtrack is available in one (official) place, and all copies of the other CD I've seen are fairly costly.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:52 AM on December 2, 2008

I'm sure everyone knows this by now, but here's the Cool Hand Luke score used as a news theme.

Oh, and here's a bit of Schifrin music many of you will recognize, even if you didn't know it was his: Paramount Television tag
posted by evilcolonel at 11:34 AM on December 2, 2008

Props to The Card Cheat for awesomest post title of the day. Also, awesome content.

And Jeers to The Card Cheat for worst pun in a post title today! There's mad groaning goin' on over here...
posted by Bobby Bittman at 2:42 PM on December 2, 2008

Yo, Bobby: I didn't come up with it...although, admittedly, it did appeal to my weakness for cheezy puns.
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:10 PM on December 2, 2008

Awesome post! Mr. Schifrin is my single biggest influence as a composer -- right up there with Vince DiCola. Absolutely pure magic. Most people's superhero fantasies involve invincibility or flight, but mine involves the ability to convince Lalo Schifrin to take me on as an apprentice.
posted by jake at 6:12 PM on December 2, 2008

Don't forget that Portishead's Sour Times is also built around a Lalo Schrifin sample of the Danube Incident from the More Mission Impossible LP.
posted by jonp72 at 5:32 AM on December 3, 2008