The Lalo Schifrin

A movie as appealing and savory as the heaping piles of dinosaur sh*t that pass for its sight gags, 1980's Caveman ranks among the worst bombs Hollywood ever produced. Though a vehicle for Ringo Starr, the erstwhile Beatle did not record the film's soundtrack, with that, uh, "honor" going to the great screen composer Lalo Schifrin. Somehow Schifrin manages to rise above it all – especially given the circumstances, his Caveman score ain't half bad: though its epic sweep would have been far better suited for a movie worth watching, this is the kind of melodramatic score harking back to Hollywood's golden era, complete with eruptions of brass and strings. And in keeping with the prehistoric plot, there's even a tribal energy to the percussion – sounds silly, but it works.

Lalo Schifrin - Bullitt (1968) {Aleph Records 018 rel 2000}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 357 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 132 Mb
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© 1968, 2000 Warner Bros. / Aleph Records | 018
Jazz / Classical / Soundtrack / Stage & Screen

After establishing himself in the television world with the classic Mission: Impossible theme, Lalo Schifrin soon made himself equally famous in the world of film music with his work on the soundtrack of the Steve MacQueen cop thriller Bullitt. This classic soundtrack found Schifrin combining the skills he honed as an arranger for jazzmen like Count Basie with the gift he developed for writing tight, punchy themes on television soundtracks like The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and Mission: Impossible. The end result is an exciting score that deftly blends traditional orchestral film-scoring techniques with the rhythms and swings of classic jazz.

Lalo Schifrin - There's A Whole Lalo Schifrin Goin' On (1968) {Dot Records–Universal 5342938 rel 2013}
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© 1968, 2013 Dot Records / EmArcy / Universal | 534 293 8
Jazz / Third Stream / Piano / Modern Post Bebop / Stage & Screen / Modern Arrangement

Though it may seem unlikely that Frank Zappa had much of an influence on the work of Lalo Schifrin, one can detect some cultural crossover on There's a Whole Lalo Schifrin Goin' On. Schifrin was as much a jazz-pop genius as ever, but on this album rock rhythms, musical satire, sound effects, and exotica are all used as camp in a way that is eerily reminiscent of Zappa's more thoughtful efforts. Schifrin being Schifrin, every cut has a distinct and catchy melody, but there are whimsical and satirical themes embedded in the music. Nowhere is this more obvious than in "Hawks Vs. Doves," in which a cheery carnival-like theme is played in counterpoint to a martial air, each interfering with the other.