Jeff Beal(I)
- Composer
- Music Department
- Sound Department
Jeff Beal is one of the most prolific and respected composers working in
Hollywood today. He grew up studying the trumpet in the San Francisco
Bay area, where he was immersed in the sounds of the 70's jazz,
classical, and the rock & pop music scene. His prodigious talent in composition
lead to many works for both big band and orchestra during his high
school years. In his teens, his compositions were performed by the
Oakland Youth Symphony under maestro Kent Nagano, the Monterey Jazz
Festival All Star big band, and others.
After high school, Jeff went to the Eastman School of Music to study
composition with Pulitzer prize winner Christopher Rouse, Rayburn
Wright and Bill Dobbins. During the Eastman years, he was awarded an
unprecedented 11 student awards from Downbeat Magazine for his
compositions and trumpet playing. It was at Eastman Jeff also studied
film scoring, and met the producers of what would become his first film
assignment, Cheap Shots (1988).
Before moving to Los Angeles, Beal lived in New York City and San
Francisco, where he pursued a career as a jazz recording artist and
composer. His debut recording "Liberation" for Island Records was
considered an underground classic by the New York jazz community. Beal
would continue to release a total of seven solo recordings, and
frequented as a guest artist on other recordings.
In 1993, after his "Concerto for Jazz Bass" was recorded by John
Patitucci on Chick Corea's new label, Beal decided to make the move to
Los Angeles. His big break came when
Ed Harris called on Jeff to score his
directorial debut Pollock (2000). Beal's
unique blend of Americana, minimalism, and chamber orchestra caught the
ear of many in Hollywood. This led to his relationship with HBO, where
he has provided scores for two of their most adventurous series,
Rome (2005) and
Carnivàle (2003), resulting in 3
Emmy nominations. In total Beal has received 15 prime time nominations
and 4 Emmy Awards to date.
Frequently called on to score assignments that require a unique and
diverse musical approach, Beal won an Emmy for
Battleground (2006)
William Hurt. "Battleground" was a modern
day homage to the iconic no-dialog Twilight Zone episode, "The
Invaders". Jeff's incredible sweeping and emotive orchestral score for
the Ridley Scott CIA mini-series
The Company (2007) also resulted
in a prime-time Emmy.
His most recent Emmy is for the underscore to Netflix ground-breaking political drama, "House of Cards".
Other notable scores include
Appaloosa (2008) dir. Ed Harris,
No Good Deed (2002) dir. Bob Rafelson,
Little Red Wagon (2012) dir.
David Anspaugh, Georgia O'Keeffe (2009) dir. Bob Balaban, the "Jesse Stone" films, dir. by Robert Harmon and the Golden Globe-winning series Ugly Betty (2006).
He also scored
Wilde Salomé (2011) for
Al Pacino, Mr. Pacino's long-awaited follow-up
to
Looking for Richard (1996).
Beal has also been a frequent collaborator of Academy Award winner
Jessica Yu, on
In the Realms of the Unreal (2004),
Protagonist (2007), and her feature documentary for Participant Productions;
Last Call at the Oasis (2011).
Jeff's 1st prime-time Emmy award came in 2001 for his season one theme
song to Monk (2002). The instrumental
theme was replaced in season two by the producers and became a cause
célèbre among Monk fans and critics. This resulted in an online
petition with thousands of signatures, and an episode by the show's
writers "Mr. Monk and The TV Star" where a theme song change is
protested by guest star Sarah Silverman.
Beal's scores are often driven by a strong sense of melody, and
frequent use of chamber-size instrumentations. In a musical climate
where bigger is better seems to be the pervading aesthetic, his scores
are often intimate, dramatically specific and character-driven. He
conducts and orchestrates his own scores, and often performs on them.
He plays piano, trumpet, duduk, recorders, harmonica, percussion,
rababa, oud, and french horn. Beal's wife
Joan Beal is a trained opera singer and has
sung on several of his scores, including
Carnivàle (2003),
The Situation (2006), and
Wilde Salomé (2011).
Hollywood today. He grew up studying the trumpet in the San Francisco
Bay area, where he was immersed in the sounds of the 70's jazz,
classical, and the rock & pop music scene. His prodigious talent in composition
lead to many works for both big band and orchestra during his high
school years. In his teens, his compositions were performed by the
Oakland Youth Symphony under maestro Kent Nagano, the Monterey Jazz
Festival All Star big band, and others.
After high school, Jeff went to the Eastman School of Music to study
composition with Pulitzer prize winner Christopher Rouse, Rayburn
Wright and Bill Dobbins. During the Eastman years, he was awarded an
unprecedented 11 student awards from Downbeat Magazine for his
compositions and trumpet playing. It was at Eastman Jeff also studied
film scoring, and met the producers of what would become his first film
assignment, Cheap Shots (1988).
Before moving to Los Angeles, Beal lived in New York City and San
Francisco, where he pursued a career as a jazz recording artist and
composer. His debut recording "Liberation" for Island Records was
considered an underground classic by the New York jazz community. Beal
would continue to release a total of seven solo recordings, and
frequented as a guest artist on other recordings.
In 1993, after his "Concerto for Jazz Bass" was recorded by John
Patitucci on Chick Corea's new label, Beal decided to make the move to
Los Angeles. His big break came when
Ed Harris called on Jeff to score his
directorial debut Pollock (2000). Beal's
unique blend of Americana, minimalism, and chamber orchestra caught the
ear of many in Hollywood. This led to his relationship with HBO, where
he has provided scores for two of their most adventurous series,
Rome (2005) and
Carnivàle (2003), resulting in 3
Emmy nominations. In total Beal has received 15 prime time nominations
and 4 Emmy Awards to date.
Frequently called on to score assignments that require a unique and
diverse musical approach, Beal won an Emmy for
Battleground (2006)
- a one-hour no-dialog installment of "NIghtmares and Dreamscapes,"
William Hurt. "Battleground" was a modern
day homage to the iconic no-dialog Twilight Zone episode, "The
Invaders". Jeff's incredible sweeping and emotive orchestral score for
the Ridley Scott CIA mini-series
The Company (2007) also resulted
in a prime-time Emmy.
His most recent Emmy is for the underscore to Netflix ground-breaking political drama, "House of Cards".
Other notable scores include
Appaloosa (2008) dir. Ed Harris,
No Good Deed (2002) dir. Bob Rafelson,
Little Red Wagon (2012) dir.
David Anspaugh, Georgia O'Keeffe (2009) dir. Bob Balaban, the "Jesse Stone" films, dir. by Robert Harmon and the Golden Globe-winning series Ugly Betty (2006).
He also scored
Wilde Salomé (2011) for
Al Pacino, Mr. Pacino's long-awaited follow-up
to
Looking for Richard (1996).
Beal has also been a frequent collaborator of Academy Award winner
Jessica Yu, on
In the Realms of the Unreal (2004),
Protagonist (2007), and her feature documentary for Participant Productions;
Last Call at the Oasis (2011).
Jeff's 1st prime-time Emmy award came in 2001 for his season one theme
song to Monk (2002). The instrumental
theme was replaced in season two by the producers and became a cause
célèbre among Monk fans and critics. This resulted in an online
petition with thousands of signatures, and an episode by the show's
writers "Mr. Monk and The TV Star" where a theme song change is
protested by guest star Sarah Silverman.
Beal's scores are often driven by a strong sense of melody, and
frequent use of chamber-size instrumentations. In a musical climate
where bigger is better seems to be the pervading aesthetic, his scores
are often intimate, dramatically specific and character-driven. He
conducts and orchestrates his own scores, and often performs on them.
He plays piano, trumpet, duduk, recorders, harmonica, percussion,
rababa, oud, and french horn. Beal's wife
Joan Beal is a trained opera singer and has
sung on several of his scores, including
Carnivàle (2003),
The Situation (2006), and
Wilde Salomé (2011).