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We describe many composers on mfiles as having been child prodigies, but how else would you describe someone who entered the Paris Conservatory at 9 years of age, studying with Nadia Boulanger. Michel Legrand's musical inclinations were always towards song-writing and he was a singer himself. Following the success of his first album "I Love Paris" he went on to work with many of the great Jazz names such as Miles Davis and John Coltrane on his next album "Legrand Jazz". When he moved into film work, it was no surprise that he was able to bring these skills into play not only in writing movie songs but also in composing orchestral material with a strong lyrical feel. In "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg" all the dialogue is actually sung in this unusual film (and it was the first French musical to be shot in colour). Many of his films are French language ones (e.g. some from director Jean-Luc Godard) but there are also a number of well-known English language movies such as "The Thomas Crown Affair" (with its theme "The Windmills of Your Mind"), "Summer of '42" and "Yentl" with Barbra Streisand.
Although he has been less active lately as a film composer, Michel Legrand regularly performs in concert halls and jazz clubs across the globe, and 2008 saw the premiere in London of "Marguerite", Legrand's new stage musical created with the help of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg (who also created "Les Misérables" and "Miss Saigon"). This musical is based on Dumas' novel "La Dame aux Camélias". The composer is now 80 years old (like John Williams) and is reported to be working on a new movie called "Max Rose". Legrand's jazz scoring for the famous chess scene in "The Thomas Crown Affair" is absolutely masterful, so it is only right that we include the full scene from youtube: 
