Jeff Beal Jeff Beal Jeff Beal

Biography

Jeff Beal is an American composer of music for film, media, and the concert hall. With musical beginnings as a jazz trumpeter and recording artist, his works are infused with an understanding of rhythm and spontaneity. Steven Schneider for the New York Times wrote of 'the richness of Beal's musical thinking...his compositions often capture the liveliness and unpredictability of the best improvisation.' Beal's seven solo CDs, including Three Graces, Contemplations (Triloka) Red Shift (Koch Jazz), and Liberation (Island Records) established him as a respected recording artist and composer. Beal's eclectic music has been singled out with critical acclaim and recognition. His score and theme for Netflix drama, House of Cards, has received three prime time Emmy Award nominations. Regarding his compelling score for the documentary, Blackfish, the late film critic Roger Ebert wrote of Beal's ability to 'invoke many genres; thriller, mystery, melodrama.' Another lauded documentary, The Queen of Versailles, opened the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune wrote that, “scored wittily by composer Jeff Beal, the film glides along on Beal's waltz theme, a theme full of elegance and class and a discordant hint of storm clouds.”

Scoring Ed Harris' beautifully balletic painting scenes in Pollock was an exceptional opportunity for Beal. Film critic for the Los Angeles Times, Kenneth Turan wrote 'To watch Lisa Rinzler's expressive shots of Harris as Pollock create his paintings, especially the famously acrobatic drip canvases, to Jeff Beal's Aaron Copland-influenced music is little short of thrilling.' He has received thirteen prime time Emmy nominations for his music, and has won three statues. Other scores of note include his dramatic music for HBO's acclaimed series Carnivale and Rome, as well as his comedic score and theme for the detective series, Monk. Beal composes, orchestrates, conducts, records and mixes his own scores, which gives his music a very personal, distinctive touch.

Most Notable Awards

6 Award Wins, 10 Nominations
Emmy Award 3 Wins
BMI Award 4 Wins

Beal's commissioned works have been performed by many leading orchestras and conductors, including the St. Louis (Marin Alsop), Rochester, Pacific (Carl St. Clair), Frankfurt, Munich, and Detroit (Neeme Jaarvi) symphony orchestras. Kent Nagano commissioned and premiered two works, Alternate Route for trumpet and orchestra with Beal as soloist, and Interchange for string quartet and orchestra. His music for director Philip Haas' art installation Butchers, Dragons, Gods & Skeletons, was showcased at the Kimball Art Museum and the 2011 Venice Biennale. Other commissions include the Metropole Orchestra (Netherlands), The Ying Quartet, The Debussy Trio, The Henry Mancini Institute, The Commission Project and The Prism Brass Quintet. His first choral commission, entitled The Salvage Men, is written for the Los Angeles Master Chorale. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Beal's grandmother was a pianist who performed on the radio and as accompanist for silent movies. She was an avid jazz fan, and gave him Miles Davis'/Gil Evans' Sketches of Spain album when he was beginning his trumpet studies. Beal graduated from the Eastman School of Music, where he was commencement speaker and honored alumnus in 2011. He now mentors and encourages young composers as a participant in the Sundance Film Composer seminars and as a guest lecturer at conservatories and universities.

Filmography List

2014 Lichdom: Battlemage (Video Game)Original Music Composer
2014 AfterOriginal Music Composer
2014 P.O.V. (TV Series documentary) (1 episode)Original Music Composer
2014 A Day Late and a Dollar ShortOriginal Music Composer
2014 House of Cards (TV Series) (26 episodes)Original Music Composer
2014 And the Oscar Goes To... (TV Movie documentary)Original Music Composer
2013 The Guide (Documentary)Original Music Composer
2013 The Hyperglot (Short)Original Music Composer
2013 Spirit of the Marathon II (Documentary) Original Music Composer
2013 When I Walk (Documentary) Original Music Composer
2013 He's Way More Famous Than YouOriginal Music Composer
2013 Blackfish (Documentary) Original Music Composer
2013 The Battle of Amfar (Documentary Short) Original Music Composer
2013 When I WalkOriginal Music Composer
2012 Little Red WagonOriginal Music Composer
2012 Hello HermanOriginal Music Composer
2012 Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2012 GCB (TV Series) (10 episodes)Original Music Composer
2012 Luck(TV Series) (3 episodes)Original Music Composer
2012 The Queen of Versailles (Documentary)Original Music Composer
2011 Thank You for Judging (Documentary)Original Music Composer
2011 Last Call at the Oasis (Documentary)Original Music Composer
2011 Wilde Salome (Documentary)Original Music Composer
2011 Jesse Stone: Innocents Lost (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2011 Beyond the Blackboard (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2011 SessionOriginal Music Composer
2010 Jesse Stone: No Remorse (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2010 Once FallenOriginal Music Composer
2002-2009 Monk (TV Series) (123 episodes)Original Music Composer
2009 A Dog Named Christmas (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2009 Living the Legacy: The Untold Story of Milton Hershey School (TV Movie documentary)Original Music Composer
2009 Georgia O'Keeffe (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2009 Ugly Betty (TV Series) (54 episodes)Original Music Composer
2009 Jesse Stone: Thin Ice (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2009 Loving Leah (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2009 The Kinda Sutra (Documentary short)Original Music Composer
2008-2009 In Plain Sight (TV Series) (13 Episodes)Original Music Composer
2008 Flirting with Forty (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2008 Who Do You LoveOriginal Music Composer
2008 AppaloosaOriginal Music Composer
2008 James Castle: Portrait of an Artist (Documentary)Original Music Composer
2008 The Russell Girl (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2008 The DealOriginal Music Composer
2007 Spirit of the Marathon (Documentary)Original Music Composer
2007 Ping Pong PlayaOriginal Music Composer
2007 The Pixar Story (Documentary)Original Music Composer
2007 Jesse Stone: Sea Change (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2007 Where God Left His ShoesOriginal Music Composer
2007 The Beautiful World of Ugly Betty (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2005-2007 Rome (TV Series) (22 episodes)Original Music Composer
2007 He Was a Quiet ManOriginal Music Composer
2007 The Valley of Light (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2007 Walking with Buddha (Short)Original Music Composer
2007 Protagonist (Documentary)Original Music Composer
2007 The Company (TV Mini-Series) (6 episodes)Original Music Composer
2006 A Perfect Day (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2006 The SituationOriginal Music Composer
2006 Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King (TV Mini-Series) (8 episodes)Original Music Composer
2006 Hide & Seek (Short)Original Music Composer
2006 Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2006 Pinochet's Last Stand (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2006 The Water Is Wide (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2006 Jesse Stone: Night Passage (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2005 Jesse Stone: Stone Cold (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2005 The Engagement Ring (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2005 Medium (TV Series) (6 episodes)Original Music Composer
2005 Carnivale (TV Series) (24 episodes)Original Music Composer
2005 Emmanuel's Gift (Documentary)Original Music Composer
2004 Back When We Were Grownups (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2004 The Wool Cap (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2004 The Buried Secret of M. Night Shyamalan (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2004 Trace Evidence: The Case Files of Dr. Henry Lee (TV Series)Original Music Composer
2004 Ike: Countdown to D-Day (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2004 It Must Be Love (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2004 In the Realms of the Unreal (Documentary)Original Music Composer
2003 Twelve Mile Road (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2002 A Work in Progress (Short)Original Music Composer
2002 Conviction (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2002 Endgame: Ethics and Values in America (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2002 Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion (Documentary)Original Music Composer
2002 A Gentleman's GameOriginal Music Composer
2002 The Secret Life of Zoey (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2002 No Distance Too Far (Documentary Short)Original Music Composer
2002 No Good DeedOriginal Music Composer
2002 Door to Door (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2002 Joe and Max (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
2000-2001 Family Law (TV Series) (24 episodes)Original Music Composer
2001 ImpostorAddtional Music Composer
2000 PollockOriginal Music Composer
2000 Mambo CaféOriginal Music Composer
2000 Crazy JonesOriginal Music Composer
1999 Harlem Aria Original Music Composer
1999 The Passion of Ayn Rand (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
1998 L.A. Doctors (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
1998 The GetOriginal Music Composer
1998 From the Earth to the Moon (TV Mini-Series) (1 episode)Original Music Composer
1997-1998 Nothing Sacred (TV Series) (18 episodes)Original Music Composer
1997 GuyOriginal Music Composer
1997 Lies He Told (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
1996 First Love, Second Planet (Short)Original Music Composer
1996 Undue Influence (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
1996 Power 98Original Music Composer
1996 Love Is All There IsOriginal Music Composer
1994 The FenceOriginal Music Composer
1994 Jonathan Stone: Threat of Innocence (TV Movie)Original Music Composer
1994 Ring of SteelOriginal Music Composer
1994 Lookin' ItalianOriginal Music Composer
1993 Bullethead (Short)Original Music Composer
1993 The Kinda SutraOriginal Music Composer
1988 Cheap ShotsOriginal Music Composer

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