MOVIE MUSIC UK

Composer, arranger, conductor and pianist Michel Colombier died at his home in Santa Monica, California, on November 14, 2004, at the age of 65, following a battle with cancer.

One of the most versatile French composers to enjoy a substantial Hollywood career, Colombier wrote music for more than 100 film and television productions while also working extensively in jazz, pop, ballet and concert music.

Colombier was born in Lyon on May 23, 1939, and grew up in Mulhouse, where his father played in the local opera orchestra. He studied piano and violin before entering the Paris Conservatoire and developed an early fascination with American jazz. In 1961 he became musical director for Barclay Records, arranging for Charles Aznavour, and later worked with artists including Serge Gainsbourg and Petula Clark.

His film career began in France during the 1960s, and he subsequently worked with directors including Claude Chabrol, Vittorio De Sica, Marcel Carné and Claude Lelouch. Particularly notable were Jean-Pierre Melville’s austere crime drama Un Flic (1972), Philippe Labro’s The Inheritor (1973), and Jacques Demy’s ambitious all-sung musical Une Chambre en Ville (1982). Colombier’s ability to combine classical technique with jazz, pop and electronic textures quickly distinguished him from more traditionally symphonic composers.

Colombier increasingly divided his career between France and the United States, where the 1980s brought some of his most prominent assignments. Taylor Hackford’s Against All Odds (1984) allowed him to provide dramatic scoring around a soundtrack dominated by contemporary songs; the soundtrack album subsequently earned him a Grammy nomination. That same year he wrote the orchestral underscore for Prince’s Purple Rain, adapting his style to a film whose musical identity was otherwise dominated by Prince’s songs and performances.

His greatest awards recognition as a film composer came with Taylor Hackford’s White Nights (1985), starring Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines. Colombier’s score accompanied both ballet and contemporary dance and earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Score. His involvement with the film also introduced him to choreographer Twyla Tharp, with whom he subsequently collaborated on numerous ballets.

The remainder of the decade was exceptionally productive. Colombier scored the Tom Hanks comedy The Money Pit (1986), the Danny DeVito-Bette Midler comedy Ruthless People (1986), and the Eddie Murphy fantasy The Golden Child (1986), followed by films including Surrender, The Couch Trip and Who’s Harry Crumb?. These assignments demonstrated the breadth that earned him the Hollywood nickname “the Funky Frenchman”: he was equally comfortable with orchestral comedy, electronics, jazz and contemporary pop.

Colombier remained busy throughout the 1990s, scoring New Jack City (1991), Deep Cover (1992), Posse (1993), Élisa (1995) and How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998). For the gritty New Jack City, he produced a soul- and rap-inflected score in only three weeks after joining the project at short notice. Television assignments included Tales from the Crypt, Largo Winch and Messiah.

Away from cinema, Colombier released acclaimed recordings including Wings, wrote chamber music and more than 20 ballets, and collaborated with Pierre Henry and choreographer Maurice Béjart on Messe pour le temps présent. He also conducted ensembles including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Paris Opera and London Symphony Orchestra.