"No Mission Impossible": WBGO's Gary Walker will pay tribute to his late friend Lalo Schifrin on Friday, July 4 at 11am with a special hour of music and memories.
Argentine composer Lalo Schifrin died on Thursday, June 26, 2025 at the age of 93.
Schifrin composed scored for hundreds of TV films and movies, most notably the theme from the popular series Mission: Impossible that began in the mid 60's.
Lalo came into the WBGO studios in Newark several times to talk about his compositions and collaborations.
Schifrin grew up in Buenos Aires, surrounded by music. His father played violin in the Teatro Colon Opera, so young Lalo's early piano training was classical. But he also played with tango-great Astor Piazzolla, represented Argentina in an international jazz festival in Paris, and started a 16-piece jazz band while still in his 20s.
An encounter with Dizzy Gillespie resulted in Schifrin writing a piece called "Gillespiana," and not long after that, Gillespie brought him to the U.S. as his arranger.
