Jeff Mercel
- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Jeff is a composer of music for film, television and new media. He is
also a songwriter, a producer, a re-mixer and a
multi-instrumentalist... among other things. He resides in Brooklyn, NY
and the Hudson Valley.
As a former principal member of the seminal American art-rock outfit Mercury Rev, Jeff earned his first film scoring credit in 2005, writing and producing the original music for Robinson Savary's debut feature-length film, Bye Bye Blackbird. The film features performances from James Thierree (grandson of Charlie Chaplin), Michael Lonsdale, Isabella Miko and Derek Jacobi and was a FIPRESCI Prize Winner at the Taormina International Film Festival.
In over 12 years with Mercury Rev, Jeff also played an integral role in the writing, performance and production of several critically acclaimed albums. Both Deserter's Songs (1998) and All Is Dream (2001) are certified gold records in the UK. Outside of the studio, Jeff toured extensively with the band, playing nearly 500 shows on 5 continents. In addition to numerous headline tours, he has shared the stage with such acts as: REM, Coldplay, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Wilco, The Flaming Lips, John Cale, The Jesus and Mary Chain and many others.
In 2010, Jeff chose to take his leave of the band to begin working independently, with a primary focus on music for film and television. To date he has scored two feature length films, a number of shorts and several television commercials including spots for clients such as BMW, Google, Got Milk? and others. While primarily rooted as a keyboardist and percussionist, Jeff's musical diversity, highly creative production skills and delicate balance of traditional and modern elements continue to evolve and define his scoring style.
Most recently, Jeff has contributed to the original score for Tom Krueger's feature-length film, Hail Mary and wrote the original score for Sal Bardo's latest film Chaser (hitting the festival circuit starting in January 2013). In addition to his work for film & television based projects, Jeff recently completed a collaboration with fellow musician Jason Sebastian Russo and engineer Damon Whittemore, co-producing and performing on the upcoming album from the Brooklyn-based band Common Prayer. In 2013, the trio of Mercel, Russo and Whittemore will co-produce the Pakistani indie-rock band Noori's next album.
When not working in the studio in Brooklyn, Jeff can be found fly-fishing the legendary streams of the Catskill Mountains.
As a former principal member of the seminal American art-rock outfit Mercury Rev, Jeff earned his first film scoring credit in 2005, writing and producing the original music for Robinson Savary's debut feature-length film, Bye Bye Blackbird. The film features performances from James Thierree (grandson of Charlie Chaplin), Michael Lonsdale, Isabella Miko and Derek Jacobi and was a FIPRESCI Prize Winner at the Taormina International Film Festival.
In over 12 years with Mercury Rev, Jeff also played an integral role in the writing, performance and production of several critically acclaimed albums. Both Deserter's Songs (1998) and All Is Dream (2001) are certified gold records in the UK. Outside of the studio, Jeff toured extensively with the band, playing nearly 500 shows on 5 continents. In addition to numerous headline tours, he has shared the stage with such acts as: REM, Coldplay, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Wilco, The Flaming Lips, John Cale, The Jesus and Mary Chain and many others.
In 2010, Jeff chose to take his leave of the band to begin working independently, with a primary focus on music for film and television. To date he has scored two feature length films, a number of shorts and several television commercials including spots for clients such as BMW, Google, Got Milk? and others. While primarily rooted as a keyboardist and percussionist, Jeff's musical diversity, highly creative production skills and delicate balance of traditional and modern elements continue to evolve and define his scoring style.
Most recently, Jeff has contributed to the original score for Tom Krueger's feature-length film, Hail Mary and wrote the original score for Sal Bardo's latest film Chaser (hitting the festival circuit starting in January 2013). In addition to his work for film & television based projects, Jeff recently completed a collaboration with fellow musician Jason Sebastian Russo and engineer Damon Whittemore, co-producing and performing on the upcoming album from the Brooklyn-based band Common Prayer. In 2013, the trio of Mercel, Russo and Whittemore will co-produce the Pakistani indie-rock band Noori's next album.
When not working in the studio in Brooklyn, Jeff can be found fly-fishing the legendary streams of the Catskill Mountains.