Riz Ortolani | Artist
Riziero "Riz" Ortolani was an Italian composer and orchestrator of film music, born 1926 in Pesaro, Marche, Italy. He scored over 200 films and television programs between 1955 and 2014, with a career spanning over fifty years. Internationally, he is best known for his genre scores, notably for mondo, giallo, horror, and Spaghetti Western films. His most famous composition is "More," which he wrote for the infamous film Mondo Cane. It won the 1964 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Theme and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 36th Academy Awards. The song was later covered by Frank Sinatra, Kai Winding, Andy Williams, Roy Orbison, and others. He studied at the Conservatorio Statale di Musica in Pesaro, where his chosen instrument was the flute, before moving to Rome in 1948 and finding work with the RAI orchestra. At various times he also served as a musician in the Italian Air Force orchestra, formed a Jazz ensemble, and came to the United States as a Jazz musician in Hollywood, all before scoring his first film. In the early 1950s, Ortolani was founder and member of a well-known Italian jazz band. One of his early film scores was for Paolo Cavara and Gualtiero Jacopetti's 1962 pseudo-documentary Mondo Cane, whose main title-song More earned him a Grammy and was also nominated for an Oscar as Best Song. The success of the soundtrack of Mondo Cane led Ortolani to score films in England and the United States such as The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964), The Spy with a Cold Nose (1966), The Biggest Bundle of Them All (1968) and Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell (1968). He also scored the 1972 film The Valachi Papers, directed by Terence Young and starring Charles Bronson. Ortolani scored all or parts of over 200 films, including German westerns and a long series of Italian giallos, Spaghetti Westerns, Eurospy films, Exploitation films and mondo films. Standout releases include Mondo Cane (1962), Danza macabra (1964), I giorni dell'ira [Day of Anger] (1968), Una sull'altra [Perversion Story] (1969), Confessione di un commissario di polizia al procuratore della Repubblica (1971), Il consigliori (1973), and Cannibal Holocaust (1979). One RYM contributor in their review of Confessione di un commissario sums up the appeal of many of Ortolani's scores: "Finally a score by an Italian composer of the era that does not sound like a cheaper version of Ennio Morricone. The music uses electric guitar, prominent drums, and swirling strings, all to make a compelling, darker shade of emotion. Suspense and a little contemporary nod make this a bit of a hidden gem. There are some funky grooves and jazzy meanderings too you might find interesting." Ortolani's music has been used on soundtracks for Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 (1999), Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003), Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004), Euphoria (2019) Drive (2011) and Django Unchained (2012). In 2013, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the World Soundtrack Academy.
Artist Website: rizortolani.com
Featured Albums: Riz Ortolani
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