My obsession with Lalo Schifrin

I think I'm actually Germany's biggest fan of Lalo's music. Today he has lots of fans because of his funky stuff and is perhaps the most respected film composer for younger people outside the film music community, but in the 70ies and 80ies here nobody cared for his music. You see, film music fans who like Miklós Rózsa normally don't care much for Schifrin...

It all started way back in the 70ies when I saw "Enter the Dragon" in the cinema more than a dozen times. I think I was about 13 at the time and thought Bruce Lee was so cool... but you know who else was cool!

At the same time "Mission: Impossible", "Starsky and Hutch" and "Petrocelli" were running on German TV and I started noticing this strange name, this person who composes always such great music. In 1977 I started buying his records (the first ones being "Towering Toccata", "Rollercoaster", "Cincinnati Kid" and "Marquis de Sade"), and from there on I was stuck to every record that even had remotely his name on (for instance, should I buy this "Best of Hugo Montenegro" record because it had this cover version of "The Fox"? I did, but only because I didn't have the OST at that time).

But the biggest moment was the following: I really thought the "Enter the Dragon" score was incredible and would have loved to hear this score at home, but unfortunately in Germany... there was only the single with the main title and "The Big Battle" available. Somewhere I read that there was a LP, but I couldn't buy or order it in Germany. Then, after half a year or so of desperate longing, I went into town and to a record store I visited regularly. As always I looked through the complete soundtrack bin (believe me, in my country they have 10% of the size than in the U.S.) and suddenly as a gift from God or a telephatic record dealer here it was: the OST LP of "Enter the Dragon". This moment was so intense that even after 25 years I can recall details.

The first thing I did (after buying it, of course) was taping it at home so I wouldn't have to play it a second time. O.k., there was a little bit of disappointment that it was so short and instead of the cool drum sequences (like the arrival at Han's island) I got "The gentle softness" which I didn't even recalled from the movie, but still, at that time this LP was the Holy Grail of my rapidly growing soundtrack collection. (Today, with a very large number of CDs at home, the expanded CD of "Enter the Dragon" is still something very special)

I started ordering records from the U.S. in the time the first Varèse and Citadel LPs came up (remember the green "Silent Running"?), at this time you could get stuff like "Murderer's Row" relatively cheap. Of course every new Schifrin record was ordered immediately. At this time I really loved "Escape to Athena"!

Another funny thing happened: of course Lalo gave a lot of concerts, but not in Germany, and -unthinkable- in my home town Duesseldorf. At that time Lalo was touring around with these poems of the Pope he arranged. One day, another soundtrack collector told me that he had heard that Lalo would come to my town with this program! Unbelievable, I thought, but of course I informed myself - only to discover that this concert was ONE DAY AGO !!! Here is Doug Payne's entry: Live at Tonhalle; Dusseldorf, West Germany: June 30, 1984

But finally I got rewarded: Lalo gave a concert near my home town in Cologne (only 40 km away, "Gillespiana in Cologne, Live at the Cologne Philharmonic Hall; Cologne, Germany: November 20, 1996), which I also missed, but apparently Lalo liked the playing of the WDR Big Band and returned for another concert, and this time I was informed in time.
This was "Jazz Mass in Concert", Live at the Cologne Philharmonic Hall; Cologne, Germany: February 7, 1998, and after about 23 years of listening to his music from records it was the first time I saw Lalo live. Of course I tried to get an autograph, and I got one, standing right beside the master!

Another anecdote: Lalo returned another 4 times for public concerts to Cologne, and -of course- everytime I was there. One evening I was phoning with the girl with whom I attended the first two concerts, knowing that he would return sometime. During the call I mentioned that it was quite a time since he was last in Cologne, and because it was a good opportunity I looked up in Lalo's homepage whether there would be another appearance in Cologne. It was 6:30 p.m. then, and what I read pushed my adrenaline to the max: a LALO SCHIFRIN ALL-FILM MUSIC CONCERT was set for this evening, only 90 minutes from then! You can imagine how I hasted, but all went well and as always I sat in the first row during the concert.

My final Schifrin story I personally like most: for the 6th and last Schifrin concert in Cologne so far (Intersections, JMTS 5, Live at Klaus-von-Bismark-Saal; Cologne, Germany: November 24 and 25, 2000), the big Philharmonic Hall was somehow not available and the concert was placed in the much smaller Klaus-von-Bismarck-Saal. Therefore I couldn't get a ticket anymore! What now? I went to Cologne anyhow, knowing that I had to get in there somehow. Schifrin only meters away and me not being able to hear his music? Impossible.

I tried to get in as a journalist, but only could speak to a lady of the management in the floor of the concert hall. She told me that also all press tickets were given away. At this moment, when all hope was gone, Schifrin came out of a door, HE SAW ME, RECOGNIZED ME (as I said, I was always sitting in the first row) AND CAME OVER TO SHAKE MY HAND. I even remember him saying that he was pleased to see me again. That the master knew me impressed the management lady so much that after Schifrin went away she let me stay for the concert.

What I can say in general about Mr. Schifrin is that whenever I saw him in person (I also attended one Big Band rehearsal with him), he is a very friendly and gentle man, absolutely not hectic and has always a understanding minute for his fans.

If you like to know more about Schifrin, please go to Douglas Payne's absolutely fantastic discography: http://www.dougpayne.com/schifrin.htm
He also has a review page and tells his Schifrin story also in an article: http://dougpayne.com/ls_score.htm