Trevor Jones
Born: 23 March 1949, Cape Town, South Africa.
Biography:
South African composer Trevor Jones grew up in a house overlooking the local cinema, and developed a deep fascination for film and music as a child. At 17, Jones won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in London; not being from England, he could only stay four years, but he did not wish to return back to Africa due to lack of an industry there, not to mention the political climate. In his third year, he won an award which brought him to the attention of the BBC, where he worked four years as a classical music reviewer, eventually becoming a naturalized British citizen. A chance meeting with Dr. Wilfrid Mellers, a professor at York University, led to him becoming involved in music education there, studying everything ethnic music to avant garde techniques, musique concrete, and electronica. He went on to the British National Film School where he learned all aspects of filmmaking (directing, writing, and photographing many student films, as well composing the music for most of them). Jones worked on short films and small projects for British cinema and TV during the 1970s and early 1980s, and scored his first major feature film in 1981 - John Boorman's "Excalibur". Jones quickly established himself as a reliable and competent composer and, over the years, has written a number of successful scores at polar opposites of the musical spectrum, from bombastic action movies and tense thrillers, to comedies and even Muppet movies. Recently, Jones has begun to break into the upper echelons of the film music world, scoring high-profile Hollywood blockbusters, and striking up relationships with renowned directors such as Alan Parker, Barbet Schroeder and Ridley Scott. His list of credits to date includes hit movies such as "The Dark Crystal" (1982), "Mississippi Burning" (1988), "Sea of Love" (1989), "Arachnophobia" (1990), "The Last of the Mohicans" (1992), "Cliffhanger" (1993), "G.I. Jane" (1997), "Notting Hill" (1999), "Thirteen Days" (2000), "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" (2003). He was nominated for Golden Globes in 1992 and 1998, and for an Emmy in 1998 for his work on the mini-series "Merlin".
Reviews:
Around the World in 80 Days, Brassed Off, Cliffhanger, Dark City, For Roseanna, From Hell, Hideaway, The Last of the Mohicans (1992), The Last of the Mohicans (2000), The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Merlin, The Mighty, Mississippi Burning and Notting Hill
Filmography:
Three and Out (2008), Fields of Freedom (2006), Jozi-H (2006), We Fight To Be Free (2006), Aegis (2005), Chaos (2005), Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects (2005), Around the World in 80 Days (2004), I'll Be There (2003), The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), Crossroads (2002), Dinotopia (2002), The Long Run (2002), From Hell (2001), Molly (2000), Thirteen Days (2000), Cleopatra (1999), Frederic Wilde (1999), Notting Hill (1999), Titanic Town (1999), Dark City (1998), Desperate Measures (1998), Merlin (1998), The Mighty (1998), Talk of Angels (1998), G.I. Jane (1997), Lawn Dogs (1997), For Roseanna (1997), Gulliver's Travels (1996), Brassed Off! (1996), Hideaway (1995), Kiss of Death (1995), Loch Ness (1995), Richard III (1995), The Four A.M. Feed (1994), Cliffhanger (1993), Alistair MacLean's Death Train (1993), In the Name of the Father (1993), Criss Cross (1992), Freejack (1992), The Last of the Mohicans (1992), Chains of Gold (1991), True Colors (1991), Arachnophobia (1990), Bad Influence (1990), By Dawn's Early Light (1990), Murder by Moonlight (1989), Sea of Love (1989), Dominick and Eugene (1988), Just Ask for Diamond (1988), Mississippi Burning (1988), A Private Life (1988), Sweet Lies (1988), Angel Heart (1987), Labyrinth (1986), From An Immigrant's Diary (1985), The Last Place on Earth (1985), Dr. Fischer of Geneva (1985), Runaway Train (1985), Savage Island (1985), The Last Days of Pompeii (1984), Aderyn Papur ...and Pigs Might Fly (1984), This Office Life (1984), Nate and Hayes (1983), One Of Ourselves (1983), Those Glory, Glory Days (1983), The Dark Crystal (1982), The Sender (1982), The Appointment (1981), Excalibur (1981), The Beneficiary (1980), Brothers and Sisters (1980), The Dollar Bottom (1980), Black Angel (1979).
Highest Grossing Films as at end of 2007 (adjusted for inflation):
Notting Hill ($161.8m), Cliffhanger ($143.7m), The Last of the Mohicans ($128.8m), Sea of Love ($104.5m), The Dark Crystal ($97.7m), Arachnophobia ($89.1m), Excalibur ($89.0m), The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen ($78.0m), G.I. Jane ($74.3m), Mississippi Burning ($59.6m)
Awards:
1998 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Song - "The Mighty" from The Mighty
1992 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Score - The Last of the Mohicans
1996 BAFTA Awards Nominee, Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music Brassed Off!
1992 BAFTA Awards Nominee, Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music The Last of the Mohicans
1989 BAFTA Awards Nominee, Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music Mississippi Burning
1998 Emmy Awards Nominee, Outstanding Music Composition for a Mini Series, Movie, or Special Merlin
Home Page | Reviews A-M | Reviews N-Z | Composers | Links
Site copyright © 1997-2008, Jonathan Broxton/Movie Music UK. This page copyright © 2008. All rights reserved. The reviews and articles contained herein may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of the author. Some artwork and multimedia material are © various record labels and artists. All photos, multimedia and album artwork used are for non-profit making, promotional purposes, and no copyright infringement is intended.