Jonathan Elias
Jonathan Elias | |
---|---|
Born | 1956 (age 67–68) New York City, U.S. |
Occupation(s) | Composer, record producer |
Years active | 1976–present |
Spouse(s) | Patty Kelly (model, married/divorced) |
Children | 2 |
Website | eliasarts |
Jonathan Elias (born 1956) is an American composer best known for his film soundtracks.
Background
Elias was born in New York City in 1956. He is of Jewish-Hungarian background.
He attended the Eastman School of Music with aspirations of becoming a classical composer and conductor, and then Bennington College in Vermont in 1976. While still in school, he cut his teeth doing the music for movie trailers, most notably Alien, and later scored the trailers for Blade Runner, Gandhi, and Back to the Future. Elias went on to work on numerous movie soundtracks, starting with Children of the Corn and including Tuff Turf, Parents, Chaplin, and more.[3]
1980s
He and his brother, Scott Elias, founded the music and advertising firm Elias Music in 1981.[4][1]
He met John Barry (of James Bond soundtrack fame) in the early 1980s, and began working with him on several movie soundtracks, including Jagged Edge and A View to a Kill. It was during the A View to a Kill sessions in 1985 that Elias met and became friends with the members of pop group Duran Duran (they performed the title song for the movie).
While working on the soundtrack to the film
Elias produced an album for Grace Jones and co-produced (with Daniel Abraham) Duran Duran's 1988 album Big Thing. He also returned to play Moog synthesizer on Duran Duran's 1995 album Thank You.
In 1989, Elias recruited the entire Duran Duran lineup for his first solo album, called Requiem for the Americas. The most recognizable of Duran Duran's contributions to the album was vocalist Simon Le Bon's solo track "Follow In My Footsteps", which also featured The Bangles vocalist Susanna Hoffs on backup vocals. John Taylor played bass on "The Chant Movement", with other Duran members adding their instrumental touches on various tracks. Other vocalists on the album included Grace Jones, Toni Childs, Michael Bolton, Patti Scialfa, and Jon Anderson.
1990s—2000s
Elias then worked with the band Yes on their 1991 album Union. Many band members were not speaking to each other, and the disjointed working atmosphere and the involvement of outside musicians (which allowed the piece to be finished at all) led to an uneven album which was generally unpopular with critics and fans. Elias was often blamed for the album's failure.[6]
In 1992, Elias moved to California, and shifted his focus from movies and rock music to advertising. His firm Elias Arts has won an
In 1992–1993, he composed the fanfare for the 1993 Columbia Pictures logo debuting with the 1993 film Last Action Hero, and is still used till this day.
Elias released another solo project, The Prayer Cycle, in 1999. This is a nine-part contemporary choral symphony in twelve languages (including Hebrew, Latin, Swahili and Urdu). Vocalists on this album include Alanis Morissette, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Ofra Haza, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Salif Keita, and Yungchen Lhamo of Tibet.
In 2004, he released American River, a work combining
He also collaborated with
His most recent album is Prayer Cycle 2: Path to Zero, released in 2011.
Personal life
Elias married Patty Kelly, a model from Deer Park, Long Island who was working in London at age 20 when she became the lead in the iconic
Discography
Solo albums
- Requiem for the Americas: Songs from the Lost World (1990)
- Sony Classical)
- American River (August 24, 2004 Decca Records)
- Prayer Cycle: Path to Zero (2011, Across the Universe Records)
As record producer (selected discography)
- Big Thing (1988), Duran Duran
- Gutterboy (1990), Gutterboy
- Bulletproof Heart (1989), Grace Jones
- Union (1991), Yes
- Robert Downey, Jr.
Film and television scores
- Children of the Corn (1984)
- Tuff Turf (1985)
- Almost You (1985)
- Jagged Edge (1985), synth programming only
- Vamp (1986)
- 9½ Weeks (1986), title song only
- Two Moon Junction (1988)
- Shakedown (1988)
- Parents (1989)
- Far From Home(1989)
- Rude Awakening(1989)
- Forced March (1989)
- Chaplin (1992), title song only
- The Heart of Justice (1992)
- Morning Glory (1993)
- Leprechaun 2 (1994)
- Jailbait (1994)
- Recon (1996)
- The Century: America's Time (1999) (mini) TV mini-series
- The Invisible Man (2000) TV series
- A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)
- Second Generation (2006) TV advertisement
- Pathfinder (2007)
- Fighting (2009)
- Children of the Corn (2009) TV movie
References
- ^ a b Pfefferman, Naomi (June 3, 1999). "Elias and Company". Jewish Journal.
- ^ a b "Artist Direct biography: Jonathan Elias". Artistdirect.com. Archived from the original on December 28, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
- ^ a b US (September 21, 2008). "Official MySpace Page For Jonathan Elias". Myspace.com. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
- ^ Elias Arts
- ^ Taylor, John. "Urban Experimental Work 1985/86: Interview with Jonathan Elias"". Archived from the original on March 19, 2007. Retrieved February 23, 2007.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), February 23, 1999. - ^ Potts, Henry. Interview with Jonathan Elias Archived May 11, 2005, at the Wayback Machine, Bondegezou, March 2001.
- ^ "Prayer Cycle 2". Shore Fire. June 7, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
- ^ "Jonathan Elias interview". Filmscoremonthly.com. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
- ^ "The Girl in the Video: "Addicted to Love" (1986), part 3 of 3". Retrieved November 23, 2023.
External links
- Jonathan Elias at IMDb