Piero Umiliani stands alongside fellow composers Piero Piccioni, Riz Ortolani, and Armando Sciascia as one of the overlooked masters of film scoring. By weaving jazz, easy listening and lounge textures, rock, funk, and bossa nova into a field then ruled by orchestral writing, he created some of the most memorable screen music of the 1960s and 1970s across more than 150 projects.
Born in Florence in 1926, Umiliani displayed an early passion for music that prompted his admission to the city’s conservatory. After relocating to Rome, where he performed with a jazz octet, he launched his screen career with the 1954 documentary Piccola Suite Americana per Quattro Ance and continued with numerous assignments for modestly regarded Italian exploitation films. Worldwide recognition arrived with his score for the 1968 pseudo-documentary Svezia, Inferno e Paradiso, propelled by the celebrated track “Ma Nah Ma Nah,” later popularized on The Muppet Show.
Among his notable soundtracks are La Ragazza Dalla Pelle di Luna (1974), La Morte Bussa Due Volte (1969), Il Corpo (1974), and 5 Bambole per la Luna d’Agosto (1970). The last of these stands as a landmark of the genre, fusing unconventional samba, Hammond-driven jazz, robust brass passages, harpsichords, and sensual female choruses into a striking set that resonates with the output of idiosyncratic pop acts such as Stereolab and Pram as well as Mr. Bungle and affiliated projects. In 2000 the Italian imprint Easy Tempo assembled a survey of his electronic and synthesizer work titled Musicaelettronica, Vol. 1. Umiliani passed away on February 14, 2001.
