Jonathan Elias
The upcoming memoir of Grammy & Emmy Award-winning composer known for his iconic jingles including Yahoo, Famers, Liberty Mutual, MTV, Columbia Pictures and more.
“The Sound of Everything”
I always found Jonathan Elias to be one of the more interesting minds in the world of music. To have a career that crossed over from rock and pop, to commercials and branding, modern classical, philanthropy and philosophy suggests a restless mind born to investigate, deeply, and more importantly do good. Jonathan has been a frequent collaborator with myself and with Duran Duran.
~ John Taylor (Bass Guitarist)I was running the record label Sony Classical in the late 90’s, still basking in the unprecedented success (for a classical label) of the soundtrack for Titanic, when Jonathan Elias presented his idea for The Prayer Cycle, a global cross cultural recording project that was a prayer for humanity, and that featured some of my favorite pop artists from James Taylor to Alanis Morissette to Linda Ronstadt— not to mention world music stars like Salef Keita and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Sung in multiple languages, it was a spiritual melting pot of styles and genres. And it also exemplified Jonathan’s multi-hyphenate talent as a composer, poet, entrepreneur, and producer. Back then, The Prayer Cycle brought the world a little closer together. We could sure use its message of mercy, hope and compassion today.
~ Peter Gelb (General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera)Jonathan‘s music inspires me like no other… It always lifts me up and evokes lyrics and melodies in me so effortlessly… He is my brother as well as my brother in music.
~ John Anderson (Lead Singer of Yes)~ Stephen Perkins (Drummer of Jane's Addiction)
When MTV launched, we had a vision, but no money. When it came time to design our top-of-the-hour theme, we didn’t go to a slick production house. Instead, we tapped a scrappy young creative team led by Jonathan Elias. We gave him $1,000— and in return, he gave us a sound that became iconic. It wasn’t just a jingle; it became the heartbeat of a cultural revolution.
~ John Sykes (Co-Founder of MTV)I met Jonathan Elias as a music producer who'd worked with U2, Duran Duran, Grace Jones, Yes... He'd also worked on scores to some of my favorite films, 9 1/2 Weeks, Two Moon Junction. But on that day I was most excited to meet the person behind the famous MTV music Logo that to this day may be the strongest bit of branding ever created. I've since had the pleasure of a working relationship and more importantly, friendship now for over thirty years. My life was forever changed the minute he gave someone like me a peek into his world where artistry, branding, commercialism AND FUN meet. No one has been a bigger influence. Always one step ahead of where things were headed, I sat in awe in the dubroom of ELIAS for over a decade watching him go from a thirty second David Fincher spot for NIKE to a 3 second STING for AT&T, to a LOGO for APPLE to, all before dinner and a game of basketball, the FILM SCORE to Leprechaun 3! Always humble, a natural in every sense of the word and the fact he's revealing the secrets to such a charmed, SELF MADE career and life on paper, I suggest whatever your path may be, it's a blueprint to look into.
~ Dito Montiel (Film Director & Writer)As a producer & artist, Jonathan hears the music on all cylinders- the sound, the vibe, the emotional punch and the final mix- all at the same time and at all levels. As a musician in his presence, you feel free to have the courage to push yourself and shine without the fear of losing sense of the purpose.
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