Lalo Schifrin

Lalo Schifrin emerged from Buenos Aires to become a prominent Hollywood composer with more than 180 film and television credits to his name. Born in 1932, Boris Claudio “Lalo” Schifrin studied classical music from a young age, though he was also passionate about jazz. He won a piano scholarship to the Conservatoire de Paris before returning home to form Argentina’s first jazz orchestra. He met Dizzy Gillespie in 1956 and composed the extended work Gillespiana for the trumpeter. In 1957, Schifrin made his recording debut with the jazz-standards collection Spectrum. He went on to release scores of jazz and classical albums alongside his film work, which kicked off with his brassy cues for 1964’s Les Félins (Joy House). Schifrin’s career accelerated quickly with the tensely swinging spy sounds he concocted for the popular 1966 TV series Mission: Impossible. That led to similarly hard-boiled projects like Cool Hand Luke (1967), Enter the Dragon (1973), and the Dirty Harry film series. Schifrin continued to score prolifically into the 21st century while also releasing a series of Jazz Meets the Symphony projects such as 2011’s Invocations, which brought together his own works with those from Debussy and Gillespie.