Henry Mancini, one of the undisputed legends of silver-screen music and 20-time Grammy-winning composer of classics like "Moon River" or "The Pink Panther Theme," will soon be celebrated once more in time for his 100th birthday through a new tribute album and concert.
First announced last Tuesday, April 16, one of the Mancini family-organized tributes is a new record entitled "Henry Mancini 100th Sessions - Henry Has Company," which features contributions from the likes of Lizzo, Michael Bublé, Pat Metheny, Take 6, Snarky Puppy, and Stevie Wonder.
The other is a special concert dubbed "Opening Night at the Bowl: Henry Mancini 100th Celebration" set for June 23, with performances starting at 7:30 PM local time, featuring special guests Bublé, Cynthia Erivo, Dave Koz, and Monica Mancini.
Along with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Thomas Wilkins will be conducting the show at the esteemed venue where Mancini himself conducted more than 25 times across his expansive career.
Celebrating 100 Years of Henry Mancini
Born in Cleveland, Ohio on April 16, 1924, to a Quinto and Anna, immigrants from Italy's Abruzzi province, Mancini took up music by age 8. His first musical weapon of choice? A flute, which is less his choice and more his father's.
Eventually, however, both Mancini and his father realized the keys spoke to him more than the hollow metallic tube did.
"I think the piano was just something I wanted to do. So my father bought a piano," reminisced the composer, as quoted by ASCAP in a public release. "He thought he was getting a great deal on it. It turned out it had a cracked sounding board and was out of tune all the time."
Afterward, Mancini recalls how he practiced day in and day out, passing through all kinds of bands, from "Sons of Italy, High School, later even the Army Band."
Mancini then studied under Max Adkins, a conductor and arranger at Pittsburgh's Stanley Theatre, before being accepted by every musical kid's dream school: the prestigious Juilliard School of Music in NYC by the time he finished his high school studies.
It was 1952 when Mancini got launched to the stratosphere in terms of acclaim and fame, passing through his discharge from the Army in 1945 and his marriage with Ginny in Hollywood in 1947.
By then, he was working for the Music Department of Universal-International Studios and started pumping out the "gold" we now know him for, with pieces featured in movies like "The Glenn Miller Story" and "Abbott and Costello: Lost in Alaska."
The former was the first work he had that gave him his inaugural nod at the Academy. A hundred films later, he cemented himself as one of the most significant individuals in film music with four career Oscars to his name.
These Academy Awards are for his work on "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961), "Days of Wine and Roses" (1962), and "Victor/Victoria" (1982), alongside Emmy nominations for his music in "Peter Gunn" (1959) and "The Thorn Birds" (1983).
Come sample Mancini's genius in a cover of his "Peter Gunn" composition by other legends like John Williams, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, and Arturo Sandoval right below.
