Composer Jeff Beal conducting his score for House of Cards

Jeff Beal (born June 20, 1963) is an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

of music for film, television, recordings, and the concert hall. Highly regarded as a jazz instrumentalist and versatile composer, Beal creates music that often incorporates a synthesis of improvisatory and composed elements.

Early life

Beal was born in

Hayward, California Hayward () is a city located in Alameda County, California in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of 162,954 as of 2020, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the Bay Area and the third largest in Alameda Cou ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and began

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

studies in the third grade after attending a school music assembly at

Castro Valley Castro Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Alameda County, California, United States. At the 2010 census, it was the fifth most populous unincorporated area in California and the twenty-third most populous in the United States. The popul ...

'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 Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

. She gave Jeff a recording of Miles' collaboration with Gil Evans, ''

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. An extended version of the second movement of Joaquín Rodrigo's ''Concierto de Aranjuez'' (1939) ...

''. 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 The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music ...

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, and graduated in 1985 with a Bachelor of Music degree.

Jazz career

Beal married a 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

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

. At the request of

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...

, 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.

Film and television composing

In the mid-1990s, Beal relocated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. His first critical notice came in 2001, for his "hypnotic combination of minimalist rhythmic drive and Americana" score to Ed Harris' directorial debut, '' Pollock''. He has since been nominated for nineteen primetime

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

, and has won five, His first statue was awarded in 2003 for his main theme to the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madi ...

detective series ''

Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

''. Other Emmy nominations include HBO's evocative Depression era series, ''

Carnivàle ''Carnivàle'' () is an American television series set in the United States Dust Bowl during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The series, created by Daniel Knauf, ran for two seasons between 2003 and 2005. In tracing the lives of disparate g ...

'' and epic drama ''

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

'', as well as four nominations and two wins for Netflix's '' House of Cards''. Beal is noted for composing most of his music at his home, without assistants or orchestrators, playing most of the instruments himself. For the music from ''House of Cards'', he added strings through recording a 17-piece string ensemble, which he invited to record in the living room of his home. He recently completed the score for Rodrigo García's '' Raymond & Ray'' for which he composed and performed all of the jazz trumpet solos mimed by actor

Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor and film director. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. Hawke has directed three feature films, three off-Broadway plays, and a doc ...

Concert works

Beal has a catalogue of 35 concert works, published by G. Schirmer Inc./AMP, including many commissioned orchestral, choral and dance compositions. Beal has conducted his own music with a variety of orchestras, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the recording of the score to "Boston", a feature-length documentary on the history of the

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ...

the National Symphony Orchestra in '' House of Cards'' in Concert at the Kennedy Center, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra performing Beal's new score for Buster Keaton's "The General".. He was commissioned by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra to compose a new song cycle for Grammy winner Hilá Plittman in honor of Leonard Slatkin’s fifty years with the Orchestra. "The Paperlined Shack", Beal's first album of exclusively his concert music was released in June of 2022 on Supertrain Records featuring the titular song cycle performed by Plittman and the Eastman Philharmonia conducted by Leonard Slatkin and his string quartet "Things Unseen" performed by The New Hollywood String Quartet.

Later life

Beal disclosed that in 2007 he was diagnosed as having

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This ...

. Beal attributes the stabilization of the disease symptoms in part to his busy schedule and the concentration required to compose, as well as treating his MS as a vascular disease with lifestyle intervention and venoplasty treatment.Tim Grieving
A wrong note sets the right mood in "House of Cards"

NPR Music NPR Music is a project of National Public Radio, an American privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization, that launched in November 2007 to present public radio music programming and original editorial content for music ...

, February 26, 2015. Retrieved 2016-11-19.

Selected film credits

*'' A Gentleman's Game'' *''

The Biggest Little Farm ''The Biggest Little Farm'' is a 2018 American documentary film, directed by John Chester. The film profiles the life of John Chester and his wife Molly as they acquire and establish themselves on Apricot Lane Farms in Moorpark, California.

'' *'' The Price of Everything'' *'' Bigger'' *''

Shock and Awe Shock and awe (technically known as rapid dominance) is a military strategy based on the use of overwhelming power and spectacular displays of force to paralyze the enemy's perception of the battlefield and destroy their will to fight. Though ...

'' *''

Generation Wealth ''Generation Wealth'' is a 2018 American documentary film directed by Lauren Greenfield. It follows Greenfield's 2017 book and photo exhibition of the same name. Release ''Generation Wealth'' was selected to be the opening night film at the 2018 ...

'' *'' An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power'' *'' The Sweet Life'' *'' Spirit of the Marathon II'' *''

Blackfish Blackfish is a common name for the following species of fish, dolphins, and whales: Fish * Alaska blackfish, (''Dallia pectoralis''), an Esocidae from Alaska, Siberia and the Bering Sea islands * Black fish (''Carassioides acuminatus'') a cyprin ...

'' *''

The Queen of Versailles ''The Queen of Versailles'' is a 2012 American documentary film by Lauren Greenfield. The film depicts Jackie Siegel and David Siegel, owners of Westgate Resorts, and their family as they build their private residence – Versailles, one ...

'' *''

Appaloosa The Appaloosa is an American horse breed best known for its colorful spotted coat pattern. There is a wide range of body types within the breed, stemming from the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. Each horse's colo ...

'' *'' The Deal'' *'' Spirit of the Marathon'' *''

Where God Left His Shoes ''Where God Left His Shoes'' is a 2007 American drama film written and directed by Salvatore Stabile and starring John Leguizamo, Leonor Varela, David Castro, Samantha M. Rose, Jerry Ferrara, and Manny Pérez. It premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Fi ...

'' *'' He Was a Quiet Man'' *'' The Situation'' *''

Emmanuel's Gift Filmmakers Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern capture Emmanuel Yeboah's heart, spirit, and determination through the 2005 documentary ''Emmanuel’s Gift'', based on the true story of Emmanuel's life solely dedicated to making change. Narrated by Oprah Winf ...

'' *''

In the Realms of the Unreal ''In the Realms of the Unreal'' is a 2004 American documentary film written and directed by Jessica Yu about American outsider artist Henry Darger (1892–1973). Summary An obscure janitor during his life, Darger is known for the posthumous disc ...

'' *'' Pollock'' *'' Breaking News in Yuba County'' *'' Jay Sebring....Cutting to the Truth'' *'' GameStop: Rise of the Players''

Selected television credits

*'' House of Cards'' *''

The Long Road Home ''The Long Road Home: The Ultimate John Fogerty/Creedence Collection'' is a compilation album by American roots rock singer-songwriter John Fogerty, released on November 1, 2005, by Fantasy Records. It compiles songs from Fogerty's solo career an ...

'' *''

The Putin Interviews ''The Putin Interviews'' is a four-part, four-hour television series by Oliver Stone. It was first broadcast in 2017. The series was created from several interviews of Vladimir Putin conducted by Stone between 2015 and 2017. Summary Stone's i ...

'' *'' GCB'' *''

'' *''

Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which was originally broadcast on ABC. It premiered on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombi ...

'' *''

'' *'' Nightmares & Dreamscapes'' *''

'' *''

Back When We Were Grownups ''Back When We Were Grownups'' is a 2001 novel written by Anne Tyler in memory of her husband, who died in 1997. Plot Tyler's 15th novel, like most of her work, is set in Baltimore, Maryland. It opens with the sentence, "Once upon a time, there w ...

'' *'' The Wool Cap'' *''

Big Driver ''Big Driver'' is a novella by American writer Stephen King, published in his collection '' Full Dark, No Stars'' (2010). An excerpt was published in the November 12, 2010 issue of ''Entertainment Weekly''.Door to Door Door-to-door is a canvassing technique that is generally used for sales, marketing, advertising, evangelism or campaigning, in which the person or persons walk from the door of one house to the door of another, trying to sell or advertise a ...

'' *''

Medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation * Medium bomber, a class of war plane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium ...

'' *''

In Plain Sight ''In Plain Sight'' is an American drama television series that premiered on the USA Network on June 1, 2008. The series revolves around Mary Shannon (Mary McCormack), a Deputy United States Marshal attached to the Albuquerque, New Mexico, office ...

'' *'' Challenger: The Final Flight'' *

Jesse Stone Jesse Albert Stone (November 16, 1901 – April 1, 1999) was an American rhythm and blues musician and songwriter whose influence spanned a wide range of genres. He also used the pseudonyms Charles Calhoun and Chuck Calhoun. His best-know ...

television films

Discography

, - ! style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", Year ! style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", Album , - , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", 1987 , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", ''Liberation'' , - , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", 1988 , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", ''Perpetual Motion'' , - , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", 1991 , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", ''Objects in the Mirror'' , - , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", 1993 , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", ''Three Graces'' , - , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", 1994 , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", ''Contemplations'' , - , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", 1996 , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", ''The Gathering with Joan Beal'' , - , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", 1997 , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", ''Alternate Route'' , - , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", 1998 , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", ''

Red Shift In physics, a redshift is an increase in the wavelength, and corresponding decrease in the frequency and photon energy, of electromagnetic radiation (such as light). The opposite change, a decrease in wavelength and simultaneous increase in fr ...

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Ed Harris Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in ''Apollo 13'' (1995), '' The Truman Show'' (1998), '' Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Award ...

'' , - , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", 2004 , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", ''

'' , - , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", 2003 , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", '' Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion'' , - , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", 2004 , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", ''

'' , - , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", 2007 , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", ''

'' , - , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", 2016 , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", ''

'' , - , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", 2018 , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", ''House of Cards Symphony'' , - , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", 2022 , style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;", '' GameStop: Rise of the Players''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beal, Jeff 1963 births American film score composers American male film score composers American male classical composers American classical composers Living people People from Hayward, California People with multiple sclerosis American jazz composers American male jazz composers 20th-century American composers 20th-century classical composers 21st-century American composers 21st-century classical composers Classical musicians from California Jazz musicians from California American television composers Male television composers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Varèse Sarabande Records artists 20th-century jazz composers 21st-century jazz composers