Obituaries

Argentine pianist and composer Lalo Schifrin, best known for his scores for Mission: Impossible and more than 200 other films and TV shows, including Bullitt, Mannix and Cool Hand Luke, has died.

Routinely called a "musician's musician," the pianist had an atypical career that even he called mysterious. He spent it returning to a handful of favorite composers, with acclaimed results.

The Beach Boys' co-founder, songwriter and producer transformed pop music into high art and became America's answer to The Beatles' Lennon and McCartney in the process.

The musical visionary led a multi-racial funk band that produced five Top 10 hits in the late 1960s and early '70s.

The superbly alert and flexible drummer formed a swirling current in modern jazz for more than 60 years. He was 82.

From his seat at the piano, Andy Bey sang with a hushed interiority that could make a listener feel as if he were exchanging confidences. He died on April 26, at 85.

A Pulitzer Prize-winning composer who served an influential tenure on the music faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, Richard Wernick died on April 25 at his home in Haverford, PA. He was 91.

His wife, Fresh Air host Terry Gross, said the longtime contributor to The Village Voice and NPR had been living with emphysema and Parkinson's disease.

One of the first modern women composers to reach international acclaim, Gubaidulina wrote bold music, inspired by Eastern and Western philosophies, and the joy of sound itself.

The vibraphonist, composer and jazz-funk pioneer helped inspire the neo-soul movement, and his best-known song was sampled over 100 times.