Legendary composer Lalo Schifrin recently made a rare concert appearance in London. Mr. Schifrin afforded Cinema Retro extraordinary access to the event. Here is music critic Darren Allison's review along with Cinema Retro photographer Mark Mawston's coverage of a master musician at work. (All photos copyright Mark Mawston. All rights reserved)
It was a long time coming, but at last, U.K
fans were treated to a very rare feast of acoustic delight in the guise of
Argentinean born composer Lalo Schifrin. London
welcomed Schifrin as part of the ‘La
Linea’ Latin music festival held at the prestigious
surroundings of the capital’s Barbican Centre. An overwhelming sense of
excitement and anticipation filled the auditorium as members of the wonderful London
Symphony Orchestra took to the stage, followed soon after by the ensemble of
Schifrin’s remarkable jazz quartet. Australian Trumpeter James Morrison,
Peruvian born percussionist Alex Acuna (looking incredibly sprightly at the age
of 64) and French born Bassist Pierre Boussaguet appeared with a combined intent
of setting the night on fire. At 76 years old, Schifrin appeared to our left
and was greeted by warm and sincere applause. Naturally, a little slower and
cautious these days in his movements, it was nevertheless, the perfect excuse
for us to extend our appreciation of arguably the coolest of film and Latin
Jazz composers.
Opening with an original composition
‘Chano’, a mellow piece written in honour of Cuban born Latin jazz founder Chano
Pozo, Schifrin’s nimble work at the piano served as a simple and effective
introduction as to what the evening had in store for us. In fact, Schifrin’s
continuous movement from both piano and podium throughout the entire night’s
proceedings, only served as a reminder of how his enthusiasm and love for the music-making
process has never waned, regardless of his role as either conductor or
performer. Although each and every piece selected for the show was obviously
arranged by Schifrin and unmistakably flavoured with ‘A dash of Tequila!’ as
the man gleefully informed us, it was also unselfishly shared with other
composers work of which Schifrin undoubtedly still holds in high regard. Cole
Porter’s ‘Begin the Beguine’ for instance, showed very little sign of its
original arrangement, and was instead thrown into the pot with half a dozen
spices in order to emerge as a fresh and exciting new arrangement.
Our first taste of Schifrin’s long and
impressive list of credentials aligned specifically to his film work began with
the coveted ‘Dirty Harry Suite’. Comprising of themes such as ‘Magnum Force’
and ‘Scorpio’s theme’ the gritty, urban feel of Schifrin’s original
arrangements are now enhanced somewhat with a more jazz-orientated and to some
degree, ‘lighter’ feel. However, fused with the wonderful string section of the
LSO, the suite remains both an impressive and essential inclusion that was passionately
rewarded with rapturous applause and cheers.
Schifrin’s unique twist on pieces such as
Gil Evans’ classic 1961 composition ‘La Nevada’
and Heitor Villa-Lobos’ ‘Bachianas Brasileiras No.5’ which incidentally,
according to Schifrin, amusingly translates as ‘What Bach would have written if
he were Brazillian’ were both beautifully performed and warmly received.
Bringing the first half of the concert to a close was the quite brilliant and
superbly arranged version of Moises Simon’s ‘Peanut Vendor’. It was, without
doubt, a unique opportunity to showcase the individual skills of the lead
soloists, from which Australian trumpeter James Morrison walked away with the
top prize. I use the term trumpeter loosely of course, as Morrison was only too
pleased to demonstrate his stunning ability by incorporating both trumpet and
trombone, (one in each hand of course), and delivering a performance of truly epic
proportion. It’s not every day you get to witness an audio stand off, which saw
Morrison’s right hand seemingly trying to outplay his left and visa versa! It
was, without doubt, an extraordinary display that sent ear splitting notes echoing
around each and every corner of the great hall, and left the audience asking
themselves, ‘How can it possibly get any better than this?’
After an intermission of some 20 mins, and
time to recapture our breath, the LSO, soloists, and Schifrin returned to the
stage. Met with rousing applause from his eagerly-awaiting audience, the
composer took our breath away once again, before even reaching the piano, as he
unnervingly took a minor stumble, making his way along the front of the stage
before casually turning and defiantly assuring us that all was indeed fine.
Taking to the piano, we were again treated to an excursion into his film music
with ‘The Fox’, a beautiful score and a firm favourite among fans. Again the
arrangement was shaped with a Latin jazz feel which both complemented and fit
snugly into the entire night’s proceedings. Following a gloriously wild
adaptation of Aaron Copeland’s ‘El Salon Mexico’, a piece that practically
warranted dancing in the isles, we were introduced to two original Schifrin
compositions, both of which were a delight. ‘Around the Day in Eighty Worlds’ is
a beautiful, emotion- filled piece which provided a perfect reason once again
for Morrison’s exceptional brass to ring out around the hall. ‘El Dorado’
proved to be another very sweet sounding original composition, ‘The title has
nothing to do with the music’, Schifrin informed us, ‘I just have to give a
piece a title and I thought it sounded pretty good as a title’ Schifrin
concluded, which met with warm laughter from his transfixed audience.
Schifrin once again returned to his film
work with the theme from ‘Enter the Dragon’. For me, this is one of the
greatest scores to emerge from the Seventies, and the most powerful, fuel-injected
element of the entire evening. A ‘condensed suite’ as Schifrin introduced it,
but a suite that retained every ounce of its raw original intensity. Boussaguet’s
use of funky bass guitar playing effortlessly against the combined brilliance
of the LSO proved an ultimate show-stopper. Its themes of course, left very
little room for change, particularly in terms of arrangement, and for a moment
or two, you felt as if you were genuinely transported back to the heady days of
the Warner Brothers recording studio, circa 1973.. Purely breathtaking in its
content, ‘Enter the Dragon’ undoubtedly belongs among the elite; and is simply
Schifrin at his brilliant best.
Bringing the announced play list to a close
was the eagerly anticipated tribute to Schifrin’s long time friend and
associate, jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie. It’s obvious by the composer’s emotional
comments that he looks back at these times with both joy and a tinge of the
bittersweet, due to his realization that Gillespie is no longer here to grace
us with his brilliance. ‘I learned very, very much’ Schifrin recalls,
remembering Dizzy as a man of great humour but seriously dedicated to his
craft. ‘Fireworks’ emerged as a lengthy and intoxicating medley, consisting of
such diverse titles as ‘Night in Tunesia’ ‘Con Alma’ and ‘Manteca’ with Morrison’s
interpretations of Gillespie’s brass illuminating the hall and serving as a
very special and moving tribute.
Amidst a standing ovation, Schifrin and his
soloist returned to the stage for the first of two encores, highlighted by what
is perhaps the composer’s signature tune, ‘Mission Impossible’. Schifrin
appeared both humbled and unprepared for the warmth and gratitude bestowed upon
him by the appreciative London
audience. He confessed he hadn’t even prepared for a second encore! As a reward
for our loyal appreciation, we were presented a gift in the form of ‘Millennium
Blues’ another lengthy piece that gradually transcended into both a challenging
and humorous jamming session that saw each of the leads seemingly trying to outwit
each other in turn. It was a perfect opportunity for each of the lead soloists
to shine and left the audience with vivid
memories of a magical night.
As the audience gradually dispersed with a definite
‘salsa’ spring to their step, we could only hope that perhaps Mr. Schifrin
wouldn’t leave us waiting quite as long before he graced us once again with his
unique and ultra cool presence. Taking a final glance back as I exited the
hall, I couldn’t help but wonder how many times over this man would fill a
venue such as The Barbican, should he ever decide to take his film and TV work exclusively
on the road. With such an impressive body of work containing either the cutting edge coolness of ‘Bullitt’, the haunting,
childlike charm of ‘The Amityville Horror’ or the explosive, in-your-face feel
of ‘Mannix’ (which incidentally, Paris
audiences were treated to in 2007), such a “road trip†could only prove to be
historic. It’s probably safe to assume this pipe dream of mine will certainly
never materialise. Today, Schifrin the composer, arranger and performer seems
incredibly comfortable with his proven ‘Jazz Meets the Symphony’ combination,
and at 76, he has earned the right to determine how often he chooses to share
his remarkable body of work with his public. One only hopes he becomes as
impatient to do this again as his fans are.- Darren Allison