Biography of Lalo Schifrin

Lalo Schifrin has spent much of his career outside of jazz but he has made his contributions to creative music. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire and was equally versed in classical and jazz in Argentina. In 1958, he moved to New York and gained fame for playing with Dizzy Gillespie's Quintet (1960-62); Dizzy recorded his lengthy works Gillespiana and The New Continent. After 1962, Schifrin mostly worked as a composer and arranger for films although his 1965 Jazz Mass received good notices and he recorded a quintet date for Palo Alto in 1982. In the early '90s his Jazz Meets the Symphony series featured tributes to many of his jazz idols, emphasizing lengthy medleys. Schifrin on an occasional basis returns to jazz to demonstrate how strong a pianist he remains. ~ Scott Yanow