- Trevor Jones (composer)
Infobox musical artist
Name = Trevor Jones
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Img_size = 150
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Background = non_performing_personnel
Birth_name = Trevor Alfred Charles Jones
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Born = birth date and age|1949|3|23Cape Town ,South Africa
Died =
Occupation =Composer , conductor
Instrument =Synthesizer
Genre =Film score
Years_active = 1979 - present
URL = http://www.trevorjonesfilmmusic.com/Trevor Alfred Charles Jones (born
March 23 ,1949 inCape Town ,South Africa ) is a South Africanorchestra lfilm score composer . Although not especially well known outside the film world, he has composed for numerous films and his music has been critically acclaimed for both its depth and emotion.Career
At the age of 5, Jones already had decided to become a film composer. In 1967 he attended the
Royal Academy of Music inLondon with a scholarship and afterwards worked for five years for theBBC on reviews of radio and television music. In 1974 Jones attended theUniversity of York from which he graduated with a Masters Degree in Film and Media Music. At theNational Film and Television School Jones studied for three years on general film-making and film and sound techniques. During this time he wrote the music for twenty-two student projects. In 1981 Jones wrote the score for theAcademy award -winning short movie "The Dollar Bottom" and for the short "The Black Angel".Jones was soon after brought to the attention of
John Boorman , who was in the midst of making his Arthurian epic, "Excalibur". Although mostly tracked with classical music byRichard Wagner andCarl Orff , Boorman also needed original dramatic cues (as well as period music) for certain scenes. Given "Excalibur"'s modest budget, a "name" composer was out of the question, so Boorman commissioned the up-and-coming young Jones.Excalibur brought Jones to the attention of
Jim Henson , who was making "The Dark Crystal ", and looking for a composer who was young and eager to work in the experimental, free-wheeling way which Henson preferred. The resultant score is an expansive, multi-faceted work, featuring TheLondon Symphony Orchestra , augmented by inventive use of Fairlight and Synclavier synthesizers, as well as period instruments likecrumhorn ,recorder , and the unusual double-flageolet , which Jones came across by chance in a music store.Jones followed Excalibur with fine scores for now-forgotten films like "
The Sender " (1982) and the pirate adventure "Nate and Hayes " (1983), starring the youngTommy Lee Jones . In 1985 Jones composed one of his best scores, for the acclaimed television production "The Last Place On Earth ", which chronicled the rival attempts ofRobert Falcon Scott andRoald Amundsen to be the first to reach the South Pole.Jones reunited with Henson for the 1986 fantasy musical "Labyrinth".
David Bowie wrote and performed the vocal tracks for this movie, including the hit "Underground", while Jones provided the dramatic score.Reflecting that his complex, symphonic score for "The Dark Crystal" garnered little notice, Jones began to re-think his entire approach to dramatic scoring. Around the mid-80s, Jones' work became more electronic-based (much like fellow film composer
Maurice Jarre ), eschewing identifiable themes in favor of mood-enhancing synth chords and minimalist patterns. While he did write a somber, chamber orchestra score in 1988 for "Dominick & Eugene " (which featured classical guitaristJohn Williams ), scores like "Angel Heart " (1987), "Mississippi Burning " (1988) and "Sea of Love " (1989) are more typical of Jones' output during this period.Jones' return to large-orchestra scoring came with 1990's "Arachnophobia", and he provided a light-hearted
Georges Delerue -flavoured score for "Blame It on the Bellboy " in 1992.Jones' most popular success came later in 1992 with his score for "
The Last of the Mohicans ", and his soaring, passionate music belies the difficulties which afflicted its creation. Director Michael Mann initially asked Jones to provide an electronic score for the film, but late in the game, it was decided an orchestral score would be more appropriate for this historic epic. Jones hurried to re-fashion the score for orchestra in the limited time left, while the constant re-cutting of the film meant music cues sometimes had to be rewritten several times to keep-up with the new timings. Finally, with the release date looming, composerRandy Edelman was called-in to score some minor scenes which Jones did not have time to do. Jones and Edelman received co-credit on the film (thus making this very popular and acclaimed score ineligible for Oscar consideration). Although all were displeased with the circumstances Jones was not fired from the film despite reports to the contrary.Jones became active in television in the 90s, with memorable orchestral scores for several Hallmark productions, including "Gulliver's Travels", "Merlin" and "Cleopatra". He also provided a fun, jazzy, 30s-style score for "Richard III", starring "
Ian McKellen " (1995), which features a swing-band setting ofChristopher Marlowe 's "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love " In 1997 Jones worked for the first time with acclaimed directorRidley Scott , providing an electronic/orchestral/rock-flavoured soundtrack for "G.I. Jane " (1997).Jones has sometimes been erroneously credited as an "arranger" for John Williams' score for "
Return of the Jedi ", owing to a "Trevor Jones" listed in the film's credits. However this was not the composer, but an extra who played one of the Ewoks.Soundtracks
Soundtracks for films authored or arranged by Jones include:
*"Around the World in 80 Days" (2004)
*"The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" (2003)
*"Dinotopia" (2002) (TV miniseries )
*"From Hell" (2001)
*"Thirteen Days" (2000)
*"Cleopatra" (1999) (TV)
*"Notting Hill" (1999)
*"The Mighty " (1998)
*"Merlin" (1998) (TV)
*"Dark City" (1998)
*"Desperate Measures " (1998)
*"Lawn Dogs " (1997)
*"G.I. Jane " (1997)
*"Brassed Off " (1997)
*"Gulliver's Travels" (1996) (TV)
*"Richard III" (1995)
*"Kiss of Death" (1995)
*"In the Name of the Father" (1993)
*"Cliffhanger" (1993)
*"The Last of the Mohicans" (1992) and soundtrack "The Last of the Mohicans"
*"Freejack " (1992)
*"Arachnophobia" (1990)
*"By Dawn's Early Light " (1990) (TV)
*"Sea of Love " (1989)
*"Mississippi Burning " (1988)
*"Angel Heart " (1987)
*"Labyrinth" (1986) and soundtrack "Labyrinth"
*"Runaway Train" (1985)
*"The Dark Crystal " (1982)
*"Excalibur" (1981)elected Bibliography
*Cooper, David, Christopher Fox & Ian Sapiro (eds.), "CineMusic? Constructing the Film Score", Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008. [http://www.c-s-p.org/Flyers/CineMusic---Constructing-the-Film-Score1-84718-593-2.htm Book page on publisher's website]
*Sapiro, Ian & David Cooper, "Spotting, Scoring, Soundtrack: The Evolution of Trevor Jones's Score for "Sea of Love", 17-32 in "CineMusic? Constructing the Film Score", edited by David Cooper, Christopher Fox & Ian Sapiro. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008.External links
* [http://www.trevorjonesfilmmusic.com/ Trevor Jones official website]
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