Jack Gray

composer / filmmaker

Film: Impossibly Slow Motion by IAM
"easy listening" music for film and TV
EP: I went to the art museum, but I did not laugh (well...maybe once)
Film: Gratitude
EP: Simple, and true
Film: Another Day In Paradise
Film: Life is short (but he->||<-she is forever)
orchestral music for film, film trailers, and TV
Film: Idyllic scene

About

"...onslaughts of happy emotions, paired with the tragedy of loss..."
GodsOfMusic.com
"Gray creates programmatic works about pianos that play themselves (not player pianos), music stores that come alive after closing time, fake television promos, and anthems for non-existent junior hockey teams. 'Commercials Julienne' demonstrates that this man will forever be young at heart..."
Listen.com
"...onslaughts of happy emotions, paired with the tragedy of loss..." - GodsOfMusic.com
"Gray creates programmatic works about pianos that play themselves (not player pianos), music stores that come alive after closing time, fake television promos, and anthems for non-existent junior hockey teams. 'Commercials Julienne' demonstrates that this man will forever be young at heart..." - Listen.com
Jack Gray graduated from Dickinson College, and then earned his doctorate in composition at Cornell University, where he studied with two wonderful composers: Robert Palmer, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Karel Husa.

Highlights of his career in "serious classical music" include:
 a period of teaching at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore;
 live performances of his works by groups such as the Nouveau West Chamber Orchestra, the Flagstaff Symphony, the Arizona State University New Music Ensemble, and the Amabile Quartet;
 his role as producer and host of Music In The Present Tense, a weekly, hour-long radio program devoted to interviews with and music by living composers, featuring guests such as Philip Glass, Virgil Thomson, and Libby Larsen.

Jack eventually turned his attention to a parallel career in computer work, and to the production of his own recordings and films. At American Express, he served a pivotal role in the evolution of the Authorizer Assistant, one of the first commercial applications of artificial intelligence. And, in the domain of "not so serious" music, Jack's work has been heard on numerous TV and cable networks, in theatrical films, and in major advertising campaigns.

Credits

Television


It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

Workaholics

Masters of Horror

NCAA Football
ACC All Access

20/20
Better Off Ted

Everybody Hates Chris

Julia Child tribute

The Handler

Real World
Parental Control

Chef vs. Challenge

LA Ink

Project Xtreme

Bad Girls Club
House Of Glam

E! News
E! Investigates

Titan Explorer
Passport to Pluto
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
Workaholics
Masters of Horror
NCAA Football
ACC All Access
Real World
Parental Control
20/20
Better Off Ted
Everybody Hates Chris
Julia Child tribute
The Handler
Chef vs. Challenge
LA Ink
Project Xtreme
Bad Girls Club
House Of Glam
E! News
E! Investigates
Titan Explorer
Passport to Pluto

Film

The Great Gilly Hopkins
I Love You, Beth Cooper
The Secrets of
Jonathan Sperry
The Great Gilly Hopkins
I Love You, Beth Cooper
The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry

Advertising


Works

   ...The Jack Gray Orchestra plays silky-smooth melodies from a simpler, more innocent era
   ...merrie melodies, looney tunes, and generally wacky, zany, crazy stuff
 
   ...'I'mprovised 'A'rt 'M'usic, an ensemble dedicated to collective improvisation
 



...pieces that aim to create
transcendent experiences
...arrangements based upon timeless melodies written by other composers
...The Jack Gray Orchestra plays silky-smooth melodies from a simpler, more innocent era
...some from the realm of commercial music, some musica gratia artis
...re-imagined versions of selected works
...merrie melodies, looney tunes, and generally wacky, zany, crazy stuff
...short pieces that aim to capture one moment in time (as paintings do)
...and mutations thereof
...less than opera, but more than silent movies
 
...'I'mprovised 'A'rt 'M'usic, an ensemble dedicated to collective improvisation
 
...pieces that are difficult to categorize, perhaps even being sui generis