The great Argentine composer Lalo Schifrin leaves behind a powerful musical legacy

By Doug Doyle

Published June 27, 2025 at 12:13 PM EDT

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WBGO's Gary Walker (left) and his buddy and great composer Lalo Schrifin share a moment with WBGO's Doug Doyle at the radio station in Newark. Schifrin visited the WBGO studios several times.

On this episode of The Art of the Story, we pay tribute to the late Argentine composer Lalo Schifrin.

Schifrin dies 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 Schifrin was a great friend of WBGO’s morning host Gary Walker and came into the WBGO studios in Newark several times to talk about his compositions and collaborations.

Composer Lalo Schifrin poses during the opening night of the 2018 COLCOA (City of Lights, City of Angels) French Film Festival

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.

Lalo Schifrin was a musical genius. He will be greatly missed.