Jonathan Crayford
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Jonathan Crayford | |
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| Born | September 28, 1964 Lower Hutt, New Zealand |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Composer |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Website | jonathancrayford |
Jonathan Crayford (born 28 September 1964) is a New Zealand jazz pianist and composer.
History
Early life
Jonathan Crayford began playing piano at the age of three, guided and influenced early on by his father, fellow Jazz pianist Terry Crayford.[1][2] He received classical training at the Sister Henry of Sacred Heart convent in Lower Hutt, and by the age of 14, was already performing in nightclubs alongside his father. At 17, he left school and briefly worked on film crews before being invited to compose music for a project, which launched his career in film scoring. His first released work was Gaylene Preston's 1982 television documentary Making Utu.
Career
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Crayford composed for a number of New Zealand films and television series, including Mr. Wrong (1985), Dangerous Orphans (1986), Ruby and Rata (1990), and Fish Skin Suit (2000).[3][4][5][6] During this time, he also performed in several bands with English-born New Zealand musician Bruno Lawrence, who introduced him to a wider circle of artists beyond New Zealand.
At 26, Crayford moved to New York City to immerse himself in the jazz scene. After a brief period studying at the Juilliard School of Music, he began performing with musicians such as Kurt Rosenwinkel, David Binney, Groove Collective, Jay Rodriguez, Bill Ware, and Mambo Macoco. His performances and collaborations incorporating elements of Latin jazz, funk, and classical music.
In 2009, Crayford relocated to Paris to pursue a two-year project based on the life of French mathematician Évariste Galois, supported by the Edwin Carr Scholarship. While in Europe, he worked with saxophonist David Murray and Valerie Malot of the French world music agency 3D Family on a series of projects inspired by Afrobeat and global sounds. These collaborations involved artists including Tony Allen, Questlove, Macy Gray, Amp Fiddler, and Mamani Keïta.
More recently, he has divided his time between Paris and Spain, composing a film/opera and recording two solo piano albums in Spain, as well as a trio album in New York. In New Zealand, he has performed under a variety of banners, including Spanner, a free-form duo with drummer Ross Burge, and Meteor, an electric trio featuring Marika Hodgson and Chris O’Connor.[7]
Musical style
Jonathan Crayford’s musical style is noted for its global reach, spanning multiple genres, disciplines, and regional traditions. Though recognised primarily as a leading figure in New Zealand jazz, his work extends into a variety of musical forms, incorporating influences from Cuban, Brazilian, and Spanish music, among others. This stylistic range has contributed to a reputation for versatility and innovation across both performance and composition. His music is frequently noted for its contrasts—at once introspective and expressive, atmospheric yet grounded. Critics have observed a balance of darkness and light in his work, with complex harmonic textures often giving way to moments of clarity. In film scoring, such as his work on Pork Pie, Crayford has reinterpreted composers including Mahler, Albinoni, Barber, Ravel, and Satie, reflecting an interest in blending classical motifs with jazz arrangements.
Personal life
Jonathan Crayford was married to New Zealand filmmaker Gaylene Preston until the early 1990s, whom which they had their child Chelsie Preston Crayford.[8][9][10] Crayford helped score many of Gaylene Preston's many projects until their divorce, and helped Chelsie Preston Crayford for the soundtrack on her first feature film, Caterpillar.[11][12]
Discography
Albums
- Madrugada (credited to Alda Rezende & Jonathan Crayford) (2004)
- Big Foot (credited to Jonathan Crayford with Riki Gooch) (2007)
- Our Own Sweet Way (credited to Crayford, Sellers, Dyne) (2012)
- Dark Light (2014)
- East West Moon (2016)
- Release and Return (credited to Hayden Chisholm and Jonathan Crayford) (2025)
Media scored
Movies
- Mr. Wrong (directed by Gaylene Preston) (1985)[3]
- Dangerous Orphans (directed by John Laing) (1986)[4]
- Pallet on the Floor (directed by Lynton Butler) (1986)[13]
- Ruby and Rata (directed by Gaylene Preston) (1990)[5]
- Spooked (directed by Geoff Murphy) (2004)[14]
- Pork Pie (directed by Matt Murphy) (2017)[15]
- Lowdown Dirty Criminals (directed by Paul Murphy) (2020)[16]
- The Garden of Evil (directed by Nigel Stitchbury) (2021)[17]
Short films
- Saving the Earth (directed by Gaylene Preston) (1984)[18]
- O'Reilly's Luck (directed by Pat Robins) (1989)[19]
- The Great White Man-Eating Shark (directed by Euan Frizzell) (1991)[20]
Television
- Making Utu (1982)[21]
- Kai Pūrākau (1987)[22]
- Opo (1991)[23]
- Hone Tuwhare (1996)[24]
- Fish Skin Suit (2000)[6]
- The Panthers (2021)[25][26][27]
Awards
| Year | Association | Category | Work nominated | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | GOFTA Awards | Best Film Score | Mr. Wrong | Nominated | [3] |
| 1990 | New Zealand Film Awards | Ruby and Rata | Won | [5] | |
| 2017 | Recorded Music NZ | Best Jazz Album | East West Moon | Won | [28] |
| 2022 | APRA Silver Scroll Awards | Best Music in an Original Series | The Panthers | Won | [25] |
| New Zealand Television Awards | Images & Sound Best Original Score | Nominated | [26][27] |
References
- ↑ Donovan, Emile (2024-10-15). "Jazz pianist Jonathan Crayford on music, travel and where he calls home". RNZ. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
- ↑ "Terry Crayford - Virtuoso piano player". RNZ. 2019-02-23. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Mr Wrong". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Dangerous Orphans". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Ruby and Rata". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Fish Skin Suit". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ↑ "Jonathan Crayford's Lockdown Recordings". Songbroker Music Publishing. 2025-03-30. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
- ↑ "Last Days at McVay Street". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
- ↑ Taylor, Alister, ed. (2001). New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa 2001. Auckland: Alister Taylor Publishers. p. 722. ISSN 1172-9813.
- ↑ Knight, Kim (2017-03-25). "Chelsie girl: Motherhood and movies". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
- ↑ "A remarkable place to make films: actor and filmmaker Chelsie Preston Crayford". RNZ. 2024-12-06. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
- ↑ "'Such a thrill': Chelsie Preston Crayford on seeing a sitcom legend in the flesh". The Spinoff. 2024-11-09. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
- ↑ "Pallet on the Floor". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ↑ "Spooked". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ↑ "Pork Pie". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ↑ "Lowdown Dirty Criminals". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ↑ "The Garden of Evil". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ↑ "Saving the Earth". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ↑ "O'Reilly's Luck". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ↑ "The Great White Man-Eating Shark". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ↑ "Making Utu". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ↑ "Kai Pūrākau - The Storyteller". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ↑ "Opo". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ↑ "Hone Tuwhare". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 "APRA Silver Scroll Awards | Kaitito Kaiaka". APRA AMCOS. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 "New Zealand Television Awards Announces 2022 Finalists & TV Legend". www.scoop.co.nz. 2022-10-20. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 "2022 New Zealand Television Awards Winners". www.lonely.geek.nz. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
- ↑ "Crayford wins 2017 Jazz Album of the year". RNZ. 2017-06-15. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
External links
This article "Jonathan Crayford" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles taken from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be accessed on Wikipedia's Draft Namespace.