Jeff Beal
Encyclopedia
Jeff Beal is an American composer
of music for film, television, recordings, and the concert hall. Highly regarded as a jazz instrumentalist and versatile composer, Beal's music often incorporates a synthesis of improvisatory and composed elements.
studies in the third grade, after attending a school music assembly at Castro Valley's Marshall Elementary School with his father. Upon hearing the trumpet played, he chose it as his instrument. Beal's grandmother, Irene Beal, was an accomplished pianist, professional silent-movie accompanist, and fan of trumpeter Miles Davis
. She gave Jeff a recording of Miles' collaboration with Gil Evans
, Sketches of Spain
. Beal wrote his first long-form composition for the Oakland Youth Symphony Orchestra while a student at Castro Valley High School. OYSO conductor Kent Nagano
had Jeff combine his love of jazz improvisation with an orchestral accompaniment. This merging of improvisation with classical composition has remained a hallmark of Beal's music. Beal went on to study composition and trumpet at the Eastman School of Music
in Rochester, New York
, and graduated in 1985 with a Bachelor of Music degree.
, Beal composed and recorded a concerto for the virtuosic jazz bassist, John Patitucci
, for Corea's Stretch Records label. Beal's signature work, Alternate Route, was composed for improvised trumpet and orchestra. Written fifteen years after his first long form composition, this piece was again premiered by Kent Nagano
and the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, with Beal as trumpet soloist. He has also composed improvisatory concerti for Dave Samuels
, Larry Coombs, and Turtle Island String Quartet.
, was the first patient to receive a controversial treatment for the disease by Dr. Michael Dake, a vascular specialist at Stanford University
, involving inserting metal stents into the internal jugular vein
s of MS patients. His wife reported that Beal's symptoms improved following the procedure, but the university shut down the MS stent
program amid safety concerns.
. His first critical notice came in 2001, for his minimalist Americana score to Ed Harris' directorial debut, Pollock
. He has since been nominated for eight Emmy Awards, and has won three, one in 2007 for dramatic underscore to the TNT miniseries Nightmares and Dreamscapes Battleground episode, one in 2003 for his main theme to the USA Network
detective series Monk
, and the other for a documentary aired during the 2002 Winter Olympics
entitled Peggy & Dorothy. Emmy nominations were awarded for his scoring work on HBO's evocative Depression era series, Carnivàle
, and the epic drama Rome
, also on HBO.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
of music for film, television, recordings, and the concert hall. Highly regarded as a jazz instrumentalist and versatile composer, Beal's music often incorporates a synthesis of improvisatory and composed elements.
Early life
Beal began trumpetTrumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
studies in the third grade, after attending a school music assembly at Castro Valley's Marshall Elementary School with his father. Upon hearing the trumpet played, he chose it as his instrument. Beal's grandmother, Irene Beal, was an accomplished pianist, professional silent-movie accompanist, and fan of trumpeter Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
. She gave Jeff a recording of Miles' collaboration with Gil Evans
Gil Evans
Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...
, Sketches of Spain
Sketches of Spain
Sketches of Spain is an album by Miles Davis, recorded between November 1959 and March 1960 at the Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City....
. Beal wrote his first long-form composition for the Oakland Youth Symphony Orchestra while a student at Castro Valley High School. OYSO conductor Kent Nagano
Kent Nagano
__FORCETOC__Kent George Nagano is an American conductor and opera administrator. He is currently the music director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and the Bavarian State Opera.-Biography:...
had Jeff combine his love of jazz improvisation with an orchestral accompaniment. This merging of improvisation with classical composition has remained a hallmark of Beal's music. Beal went on to study composition and trumpet at the Eastman School of Music
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, and graduated in 1985 with a Bachelor of Music degree.
Jazz career
Beal married fellow Eastman graduate, soprano Joan (Sapiro) Beal, and the pair moved from Rochester to New York City. It was there Beal composed and recorded his debut album, Liberation, for Island Records. Beal's jazz band went on to perform at The Blue Note and the Montreaux Jazz Festival. At the request of Chick CoreaChick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
, Beal composed and recorded a concerto for the virtuosic jazz bassist, John Patitucci
John Patitucci
John Patitucci is an American Grammy-winning jazz double bass and jazz fusion electric bass player.-Biography:Patitucci is of Italian descent and was born in Brooklyn, New York, where he began playing the electric bass at age ten, composing and performing at age 12, as well as the acoustic bass at...
, for Corea's Stretch Records label. Beal's signature work, Alternate Route, was composed for improvised trumpet and orchestra. Written fifteen years after his first long form composition, this piece was again premiered by Kent Nagano
Kent Nagano
__FORCETOC__Kent George Nagano is an American conductor and opera administrator. He is currently the music director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and the Bavarian State Opera.-Biography:...
and the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, with Beal as trumpet soloist. He has also composed improvisatory concerti for Dave Samuels
Dave Samuels
Dave Samuels is an American vibraphone player who has worked with various jazz and fusion artists, such as Spyro Gyra. Currently, he plays in an ensemble called The Caribbean Jazz Project, a Grammy-winning jazz-Latin music group...
, Larry Coombs, and Turtle Island String Quartet.
Personal
Beal, who has multiple sclerosisMultiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
, was the first patient to receive a controversial treatment for the disease by Dr. Michael Dake, a vascular specialist at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, involving inserting metal stents into the internal jugular vein
Jugular vein
The jugular veins are veins that bring deoxygenated blood from the head back to the heart via the superior vena cava.-Internal and external:There are two sets of jugular veins: external and internal....
s of MS patients. His wife reported that Beal's symptoms improved following the procedure, but the university shut down the MS stent
Stent
In the technical vocabulary of medicine, a stent is an artificial 'tube' inserted into a natural passage/conduit in the body to prevent, or counteract, a disease-induced, localized flow constriction. The term may also refer to a tube used to temporarily hold such a natural conduit open to allow...
program amid safety concerns.
Film and television composing
In the mid-1990s, Beal relocated to Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. His first critical notice came in 2001, for his minimalist Americana score to Ed Harris' directorial debut, Pollock
Pollock (film)
Pollock is a 2000 biographical drama film which tells the life story of painter Jackson Pollock. It stars Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Robert Knott, Bud Cort, Molly Regan, Marcia Gay Harden and Sada Thompson.-Plot:...
. He has since been nominated for eight Emmy Awards, and has won three, one in 2007 for dramatic underscore to the TNT miniseries Nightmares and Dreamscapes Battleground episode, one in 2003 for his main theme to the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
detective series Monk
Monk (TV series)
Monk is an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. It originally ran from 2002 to 2009 and is primarily a mystery series, although it has dark and comic touches.The series debuted on July...
, and the other for a documentary aired during the 2002 Winter Olympics
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
entitled Peggy & Dorothy. Emmy nominations were awarded for his scoring work on HBO's evocative Depression era series, Carnivàle
Carnivàle
Carnivàle is an American television series set in the United States during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. In tracing the lives of two disparate groups of people, its overarching story depicts the battle between good and evil and the struggle between free will and destiny; the storyline mixes...
, and the epic drama Rome
Rome (TV series)
Rome is a British-American–Italian historical drama television series created by Bruno Heller, John Milius and William J. MacDonald. The show's two seasons premiered in 2005 and 2007, and were later released on DVD. Rome is set in the 1st century BC, during Ancient Rome's transition from Republic...
, also on HBO.
Selected film credits
- PollockPollock (film)Pollock is a 2000 biographical drama film which tells the life story of painter Jackson Pollock. It stars Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Robert Knott, Bud Cort, Molly Regan, Marcia Gay Harden and Sada Thompson.-Plot:...
- The Situation
- Where God Left His Shoes
- Emmanuel's Gift
- Realms of the Unreal
- The DealThe Deal (2008 film)The Deal is a 2008 American satirical comedy film directed by Steven Schachter. The screenplay by Schachter and William H. Macy is based on the 1991 novel of the same title by Peter Lefcourt. Macy and Meg Ryan co-star....
- He Was a Quiet ManHe Was a Quiet ManHe Was a Quiet Man is a 2007 serious-drama film, written and directed by Frank Cappello. Produced by Jason Hallock and Mike Leahy. The film stars Christian Slater, Elisha Cuthbert, Jamison Jones and William H. Macy.-Plot:...
- AppaloosaAppaloosa (film)Appaloosa is a 2008 American Western film based on the 2005 novel of the same name by crime writer Robert B. Parker. The film was directed by Ed Harris and co-written by Harris and Robert Knott. Appaloosa stars Harris alongside Viggo Mortensen, Renée Zellweger and Jeremy Irons...
- Ring of Steel
- Spirit of the MarathonSpirit of the MarathonSpirit of the Marathon is a 2007 documentary film directed by Jon Dunham. The film chronicles the journey six marathon runners experience while training and competing in the 2005 Chicago Marathon...
- Jesse StoneJesse Stone novelsJesse Stone is the lead character in a series of detective novels initially written by Robert B. Parker. They were among his last works, and the first series in which the novelist used the third-person narrative...
- The Passion of Ayn RandThe Passion of Ayn RandThe Passion of Ayn Rand is a 1999 film directed by Christopher Menaul. It is based on the book of the same title by Barbara Branden...
Selected television credits
- CarnivàleCarnivàleCarnivàle is an American television series set in the United States during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. In tracing the lives of two disparate groups of people, its overarching story depicts the battle between good and evil and the struggle between free will and destiny; the storyline mixes...
- RomeRome (TV series)Rome is a British-American–Italian historical drama television series created by Bruno Heller, John Milius and William J. MacDonald. The show's two seasons premiered in 2005 and 2007, and were later released on DVD. Rome is set in the 1st century BC, during Ancient Rome's transition from Republic...
- Ugly BettyUgly BettyUgly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea...
- Nightmares and Dreamscapes
- Back When We Were GrownupsBack When We Were GrownupsBack When We Were Grownups is a 2001 novel written by Anne Tyler in memory of her husband, who died in 1997.Tyler's 15th novel, like most of her work, is set in Baltimore, Maryland...
- Door to DoorDoor to Door (film)Door to Door was a 2002 TV movie about Bill Porter , a door-to-door salesman with cerebral palsy. The film was produced for the TNT cable network and was nominated for twelve Emmy Awards, winning six...
- The Wool CapThe Wool CapThe Wool Cap is a 2004 American cable television movie, an updated and Americanized version of the 1962 feature film Gigot starring Jackie Gleason, who wrote the original story....
- MonkMonk (TV series)Monk is an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. It originally ran from 2002 to 2009 and is primarily a mystery series, although it has dark and comic touches.The series debuted on July...
- In Plain SightIn Plain SightIn Plain Sight is an American dramatic television series on USA Network. The series revolves around Mary Shannon , a Deputy United States Marshal attached to the Albuquerque, New Mexico office of the Federal Witness Security Program , more commonly known as the Federal Witness Protection Program...
Discography
- Liberation
- Objects in the Mirror
- Three Graces
- Contemplations
- The Gathering with Joan Beal
- Alternate Route
- Red Shift
- PollockPollock (film)Pollock is a 2000 biographical drama film which tells the life story of painter Jackson Pollock. It stars Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Robert Knott, Bud Cort, Molly Regan, Marcia Gay Harden and Sada Thompson.-Plot:...
Original Soundtrack to film by Ed HarrisEd HarrisEdward Allen "Ed" Harris is an American actor, writer, and director, known for his performances in Appaloosa, Radio, The Rock, The Abyss, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, A History of Violence, and The Truman Show. Harris has also narrated commercials for The Home Depot and other companies... - MonkMonk (soundtrack)In 2004, following the popular success, critical acclaim and numerous awards and nominations for the cable television series Monk, Varèse Sarabande released an official soundtrack on compact disc....
- Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion
- CarnivàleCarnivàleCarnivàle is an American television series set in the United States during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. In tracing the lives of two disparate groups of people, its overarching story depicts the battle between good and evil and the struggle between free will and destiny; the storyline mixes...
- RomeRome (TV series)Rome is a British-American–Italian historical drama television series created by Bruno Heller, John Milius and William J. MacDonald. The show's two seasons premiered in 2005 and 2007, and were later released on DVD. Rome is set in the 1st century BC, during Ancient Rome's transition from Republic...
- Jesse Stone