Lalo Schifrin

Lalo Schifrin was born Boris Claudio Schifrin in Buenos Aires in 1932. His father was concertmaster of the Buenos Aires Philharmonic, and the young Schifrin studied classical piano and composition, as well as law, before going to the Paris Conservatoire, where he learned from Olivier Messiaen and played jazz in the city's clubs at night. That double life, half classical and half jazz, would define his music.

Back in Argentina he formed a big band, and Dizzy Gillespie heard him play and invited him to become his pianist, arranger and composer. Schifrin moved to the United States in 1958, played in Gillespie's quintet, and by the mid-1960s was writing for television and film. In 1966 he wrote the theme for Mission: Impossible, its rhythm in an unusual 5/4 time becoming one of the most recognizable themes ever composed.

His film work defined the cool, urgent sound of the late-1960s and 1970s crime film. Bullitt (1968), starring Steve McQueen, features a lean, jazz-driven score that builds the tension toward the film's celebrated San Francisco car chase. Cool Hand Luke, Dirty Harry and its sequels, and Enter the Dragon added to his fame, and he earned six Oscar nominations.

Although his heyday came after the classic studio era, Schifrin's craft and sophistication connect him with the great traditions of film music. He continued to write concert works and won four Grammy Awards. He received an Honorary Academy Award in 2018 and died in Los Angeles in 2025 at the age of 93.