Paul Zaza (born 1952) is a Canadian Genie Award-winning film score and songwriter who worked frequently with director Bob Clark and with fellow composer Carl Zittrer. He has composed scores for more than 100 films.
Early life and education
Originally from
Toronto, Zaza trained as a classical pianist, graduating from the Royal Conservatory of Music.
[ "Chords of Fear: An interview with composer Paul Zaza". Terror Trap, February 2010]
Career
In 1980, Zaza won the Genie Award for Best Music Score alongside Carl Zittrer for their work on
Murder by Decree.
That year the pair teamed up again to write the score for the film
Prom Night.
[ In Comparison: Prom Night 1980 vs Prom Night 2008". Fansided, by Avery McReynolds, September 2028]
In 1981, Zaza composed the score for the slasher film My Bloody Valentine;[ "The Soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino’s Favourite Slasher Film Is Finally Getting Released". Noisey, 1 Jun 2016] in 1983, he once more collaborated with Zittrer to write the score for the well-known film A Christmas Story, which was released as an album much later in 2009.[ "Oklahoma celebs spice up Christmas CDs". NewsOK, by BRANDY McDONNELL, 27 November 2009]
He was nominated for the same award in 1985 for Isaac Littlefeathers. In 1987, he received a Genie nomination for Best Original Song alongside Peter Simpson for the film Bullies.
Zaza wrote the new television theme song and composed an all-new soundtrack for the 1993 Canadian English dub of Osamu Tezuka's anime, Kimba the White Lion in Toronto, originally released in 1965 in Japan.
Work with The Longo Brothers
In 1978, the Longo Brothers had a single " Sun Side Up" bw "Looking For Love" released on People City Music PCM 123. Zaza produced the single. He was also the arranger on their single, "Manhattan" bw "Nightwalk".
[45Cat - The Longo Brothers - Discography][ RPM Weekly, Volume 30 No. 5 October 28, 1978 - Page 32 People City Music Presents THE LONGO BROTHERS]
With Frank Longo and Larry Longo, he played on the Parry Music Library releases Orchestral Drama 2 PML 141, Country Moods PML 144 and High Style PML 147 albums.[Library Music Themes - Topic: Parry Music Library]
The Longo Brothers had a single "City Motions" (Featuring Moe Koffman) in the CanCon Top 10 Adult Contemporary chart for a number of weeks in 1984.[ RPM Weekly, Volume 41 No. 5 October 6, 1984 - Page 14 Longo Brothers release City Motions single][ RPM Weekly, Volume 41 No. 5 October 6, 1984 - Page 5 TOP CANCON, ADULT CONTEMPORARY][ RPM Weekly, Volume 41 No. 8 October 27, 1984 - Page 7 TOP CANCON, ADULT CONTEMPORARY]
Work with Yvonne Murray
Zaza produced her single, "Don't Send Me Roses (Dear Abby)" and album.
[ RPM Weekly, Volume 39 No. 4 - Page 15] The single did quite well. For the week ending October 8, the single had entered the RPM Country 50 Singles chart at No. 50 and was at No. 24 on the RPM Contemporary Adult chart.
[ RPM Weekly, Volume 39 No. 6 October 8, 1983 - Page 11 RPM Country 50 Singles][ RPM Weekly, Volume 39 No. 6 October 8, 1983 - Page 14 RPM Contemporary Adult] The song peaked at No. 13 on the tenth week in the RPM Contemporary Adult chart on November 26.
[ RPM Weekly, Volume 39 No. 13 November 26, 1983 - Page 14 Contemporary Adult][ RPM Weekly, Volume 39 No. 14 December 3, 1983 - Page 15 RPM Contemporary Adult] It also peaked on that date at No. 22 on its 8th week in the RPM Country Singles chart.
[ RPM Weekly, Volume 39 No. 13 November 26, 1983 - Page 12 RPM Country 50 Singles][ RPM Weekly, Volume 39 No. 14 December 3, 1983 - Page 11 RPM Country 50 Singles] He produced her next single, "Let's Not Waste Another Heartbeat" at his Toronto studio.
[ RPM Weekly, Volume 40 No. 1 March 10, 1984 - Page 15 New MCG release by Yvonne Murray] The song spent a total of eleven weeks in the chart, it peaked at No. 12 on June 2.
[ RPM Weekly, Volume 40 No. 12 May 26, 1984 - Page 14 RPM Contemporary Adult][ RPM Weekly, Volume 40 No. 14 June 9, 1984 - Page 14 RPM Contemporary Adult]
Selected filmography
-
(1927) – 1997 score for home video release
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Three Card Monte (1978)
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Murder by Decree (1979)
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Stone Cold Dead (1979)
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Title Shot (1979)
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Prom Night (1980)
[ "The Savage Stack - PROM NIGHT (1980)". Birth-Movies-Death, Jacob Knight 17 Oct. 2018]
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The Kidnapping of the President (1980)
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Ghostkeeper (1981)
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My Bloody Valentine (1981)
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Gas (1981)
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Porky's (1981)
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Melanie (1982)
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Curtains (1983)
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American Nightmare (1983)
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A Christmas Story (1983)
[ "Our history: More Christmas songs have Cincinnati connections". The Enquirer, via Cincinnati.com, 15 Dec. 2017]
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Turk 182 (1985)
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The Vindicator (1986)
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Bullies (1986)
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(1986)
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The Pink Chiquitas (1987)
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From the Hip (1987)
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(1987)
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Blindside (1987)
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The Brain (1988)
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Norman's Awesome Experience (1989)
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Mob Story (1989)
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Loose Cannons (1990)
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(1990)
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Flesh Gordon Meets the Cosmic Cheerleaders (1990)
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Popcorn (1991)
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To Catch a Killer (1992)
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(1991)
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Blown Away (1992)
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Liar's Edge (1992)
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Cold Sweat (1993)
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It Runs in the Family (1994)
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Iron Eagle IV (1995)
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Baby Geniuses (1999)
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In Her Defense (1999)
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Grizzly Falls (1999)
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The Fourth Angel (2001)
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Now & Forever (2002)
See also
-
List of Canadian composers
External links
