Piano, electric piano, organ, synthesizers, keyboards
Years active
1964–2022
Musical artist
Michael Anthony Lang (born Michael Herbert Lang; December 10, 1941 – August 5, 2022) was an American pianist and composer, who was recognized for his highly prolific career as a pianist on more than 2500 film scores.
Lang spent several decades as one of the premier musical talents in Los Angeles. He was well versed in various music forms, including jazz, classical, pop and R&B. He was both a freelance jazz musician and sought-after studio musician, with a career spanning records, motion pictures and television. A three-time winner of the "MVP" Grammy award from NARAS and recipient of numerous Gold Records, Lang was conversant with many music idioms and forms. This versatility enabled him to build career as an accompanist for a large body of artists including Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Vince Gill, In Sync, Milt Jackson, Lee Konitz, Diana Krall, John Lennon, Arturo Sandoval, Barbra Streisand, Josh Groban, and Frank Zappa. He also played with some of the biggest names in jazz, such as Lee Ritenour, Oliver Nelson, Bud Shank, Don Ellis, Shelly Manne, and Stan Kenton.
He recorded more than 2,500 scores, working with virtually every major film composer including John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, James Newton Howard, Henry Mancini, John Barry, Elmer Bernstein, John Debney, Michael Kamen, Hans Zimmer, with numerous screen credits for solo appearances. He premiered jazz piano concerti written especially for him by Byron Olson and Brad Dechter as well as a piano work by Kevin Kaska written for him and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Lang wrote songs for jazz notables including Stan Getz, Herb Alpert, and Dave Grusin and recorded a jazz CD entitled Days of Wine and Roses: The Classic Songs of Henry Mancini.
Lang's motion picture credits include: Oblivion, Dreamer, As Good As It Gets, The Edge, Mr. Holland's Opus, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon, Memoirs Of A Geisha, A Dog Year, Seven Pounds, The Day the Earth Stood Still, High School Musical 3: Senior Year, Bedtime Stories, Public Enemies, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Hannah Montana: The Movie, A Thousand Words, The Forlorn, They Came from Upstairs, A League of Their Own, The Russia House, Arachnophobia, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Black Sunday, The Towering Inferno, The Paper Chase, The Poseidon Adventure, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Lang recorded numerous albums with Barbra Streisand, Vanessa Williams, Russell Watson, and Michael Bolton. His television work includes The Simpsons, Family Guy, Privileged, American Dad, Orville, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
^ abcBurlingame, Jon (August 5, 2022). "Mike Lang, Leading Jazz and Studio Pianist, Dies at 80". Variety. "He was born Michael Herbert Lang on Dec. 10, 1941, in Los Angeles (but changed his name, many years later, to Michael Anthony Lang), the son of Jennings Lang, an agent who later became a producer of such Universal films as 'Earthquake' and 'Airport 1975.'" Retrieved August 5, 2022.
^"California Birth Index, 1905–1995," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V2QR-39S : November 27, 2014), Michael Herbert Lang, December 10, 1941; citing Los Angeles, California, United States, Department of Health Services, Vital Statistics Department, Sacramento.
^ abParsons, Louella O. "Death Takes Wife of Jenning Lang". The San Francisco Examiner. October 23, 1952. p. 14. "Mrs. Lang, the former Flora Pam Friedheim, was born in Memphis, Tenn., on October 27, 1911. She and Lang were married in Las Vegas on September 6, 1940. She leaves two little boys, Bobby, age 11, and Mike, age 6." Retrieved August 5, 2022.
^Parsons, Louella O. (September 8, 1940) "Movie Gossip for Brickwalk Fans". Albuquerque Journal. p. 6. "Hugh Herbert's niece, Flora Pam, of the Howard Lang office, and Jennings Lang, ditto, were married in Tia Juana Friday." Retrieved August 5, 2022.
^"Comedian Seeks $67,500 Damages". The Daily Clintonian. April 24, 1940. p. 4. "Seeking $67,500 damages for injuries he allegedly received in an automobile accident in December 1938, film comic Hugh Herbert is shown in Los Angeles court with his niece and manager, Flora Pam." Retrieved August 5, 2022.
^Oliver, Myrna (May 31, 1996). "Jennings Lang: Produced 'Earthquake,' 'Airport' Movies". The Los Angeles Times. p. A30. "In 1956, Lang married singer Monica Lewis, who appeared in several of his films including 'Earthquake' and the 1985 'Stick' with Burt Reynolds and Candice Bergen. In addition to Lewis, Lang is survived by their son Rocky; two sons from a previous marriage, Robert and Michael, and three grandchildren." Retrieved August 5, 2022.
