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Piero Umiliani, 1926-2001
Composer, pianist and conductor Piero Umiliani died in Rome on February 14, 2001, at the age of 74.
One of the most distinctive figures in post-war Italian film music, Umiliani wrote more than 150 scores during a career encompassing comedy, thrillers, westerns, gialli, documentaries and exploitation cinema. A gifted jazz musician and enthusiastic electronic experimenter, he is also remembered internationally for the irresistible “Mah Nà Mah Nà,” one of the most unlikely soundtrack themes ever to become a worldwide popular standard.
Umiliani was born in Florence on July 17, 1926. Fascinated by jazz at a time when the music was discouraged by Italy’s Fascist regime, he listened avidly to Duke Ellington and other American musicians on foreign radio during World War II. He subsequently became an accomplished jazz pianist, performed and recorded with leading Italian musicians, and studied counterpoint and fugue at Florence’s Luigi Cherubini Conservatory. After moving to Rome he worked as an arranger for Armando Trovajoli before establishing himself in cinema.
His breakthrough came with Mario Monicelli’s classic comedy I Soliti Ignoti (Big Deal on Madonna Street, 1958). Monicelli specifically wanted a jazz score, and Umiliani responded with music that brought a strikingly contemporary sound to Italian cinema, including the memorable “Blues for Gassman.” The score was among the earliest Italian films to use jazz so extensively as dramatic accompaniment and immediately established Umiliani as a composer with a musical personality very different from the traditional symphonic school. Read more…
Academy Award Nominations 2000
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) have announced the nominations for the 73rd Academy Awards, honoring the best in film in 2000.
In the Best Original Score category, the nominees are:
- TAN DUN for Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
- ENNIO MORRICONE for Malèna
- RACHEL PORTMAN for Chocolat
- JOHN WILLAMS for The Patriot
- HANS ZIMMER for Gladiator
This is the first Oscar nomination for Tan, the 5th nomination for Morricone, the 3rd nomination for Portman, the 34th nomination for Williams, and the 6th nomination for Zimmer. Portman previously won for Emma in 1996. Williams previously won for Fiddler on the Roof in 1971, Jaws in 1975, Star Wars in 1977, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial in 1982, and Schindler’s List in 1993. Zimmer previously won for The Lion King in 1994.
In the Best Original Song category, the nominees are:
- TAN DUN, JORGE CALANDRELLI, and JAMES SCHAMUS for “A Love Before Time” from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
- BOB DYLAN for “Things Have Changed” from Wonder Boys
- BJÖRK GUÐMUNDSDÓTTIR, LARS VON TRIER, and SJÓN SIGURÐSSON for “I’ve Seen It All” from Dancer in the Dark
- RANDY NEWMAN for “A Fool In Love” from Meet the Parents
- GORDON SUMNER (STING) and DAVID HARTLEY for “My Funny Friend and Me” from The Emperor’s New Groove
The winners of the 73rd Academy Awards will be announced on March 25, 2001.
AFRICA – Alex North
MOVIE MUSIC UK CLASSICS
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
I so much want to like Alex North’s music. Every bone in my body tells me that, technically, he was one of the most gifted and creative composers every to work in Hollywood. Modern luminaries laud his work as being some of the most groundbreaking ever written for the Silver Screen. Jerry Goldsmith was a close friend and ardent admirer. As a 14 time Oscar nominee, the esteem in which he is held speaks for itself. But, with a few notable exceptions, I never have been able to actually sit and “enjoy” an Alex North score. He didn’t write that kind of music. Read more…
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