Riz Ortolani at the 13th World Soundtrack Awards Ceremony

Another great has gone but his music legacy and heritage stays forever! Riz Ortolani was born on September 4, 1931 in Pesaro, Italy as Riziero Ortolani. In a career that spanned decades, Riz Ortolani, composed more than 300 scores and his most notables include Cannibal Holocaust, Il Sorpasso, The House On The Edge Of The Park, Castle of Blood. Ortolani received an Academy Award nomination and a Grammy for the song More from the 1962 documentary Mondo Cane and was honored with another Academy Award nomination for writing the title song for the 1970 western Madron. His most recent music was featured in Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Kill Bill: Vol. 2,  Django Unchained and Drive. Ortolani died in Rome this evening (January 23). He was 87.

Riz Ortolani with Alexandre Desplat during the Q&A at Ghent Film Festival

Feeling blessed that I’ve met him in person this October at Ghent Film Festival, where he was honored with The Lifetime Achievement Award  by the World Soundtrack Academy (World Soundtrack Awards) and some of his most well-known music was performed during the closing ceremony and concert by the Brussels Philharmonic, conducted by Maestro Dirk Brossé.

A farewell with his song Oh My Love, sung by his wife Katyna Ranieri (taken from Nicolas Winding Refn’s 2011 film Drive but originally featured on the soundtrack of the film Goodbye Uncle Tom).