Song of the Day: Le Mans (“Finale”) [YouTube link], composed by Michel Legrand, is from the soundtrack to the 1971 film, starring Steve McQueen. The fictional auto racing film includes many lovely themes from the composer, who was born on this date in 1932. The legendary Legrand remains one of my all-time favorite composers and musicians.
I was fortunate to meet Legrand personally and gently shake his tired hand backstage after a wonderful concert performance he gave with his trio at Hunter College back on April 27, 1996.
I thanked him not only for the greatness of his legacy, but for the joy he brought my mom, who loved his music and who had died a year before, on April 21, 1995. He was deeply moved, and thanked me. What a magnificent musician, composer, arranger, and human being. A lovely man and a giant among giants.
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