Michel Legrand | Artist

Michel Jean Legrand was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and jazz pianist, born 1932 in Paris. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to many songs. His scores for two of the films of French New Wave director Jacques Demy, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), earned Legrand his first Academy Award nominations. Legrand won his first Oscar for the song "The Windmills of Your Mind" from The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), and additional Oscars for Summer of '42 (1971) and Barbra Streisand's Yentl (1983). Coming from a musical family, his father, Raymond Legrand was a conductor and composer, and his mother, Marcelle Ter-Mikaëlian, was the sister of conductor Jacques Hélian. Also his sister Christiane Legrand was a member of The Swingle Singers vocal group. Legrand studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris from age 11, working with, among others, Nadia Boulanger, graduating with top honors as both a composer and a pianist. He burst upon the international music scene at 22 when his album I Love Paris became a surprise hit. He established his name in the United States by working with such jazz stars as Miles Davis and Stan Getz. With an immense recording catalogue of over 140 album releases, a small selection of standout Michel Legrand works includes Legrand Jazz (1959), The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), La Piscine (1969), Peau d'âne (1970), After the Rain (1983), and Il était une fois... la vie [TV Soundtrack] (1987), Also recommended is the 2005 compilation Le cinéma de Michel Legrand. Carrying on the family's musical tradition, Legrand's niece Victoria Legrand is a member of the dream pop band Beach House. Legrand died on the 29th of January 2019 and is buried at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

Artist Website: wikipedia/Michel_Legrand

Featured Albums: Michel Legrand

Related Artists: Miles Davis

Video Clips: I Will Wait For You, Compilation, The Go-Between