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Jon Brion (born December 11, 1963) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and the Grays before becoming an established producer and film score composer.
Brion has produced music for artists and bands including Of Montreal, Aimee Mann, Love Jones, Eels, Fiona Apple, Elliott Smith, Robyn Hitchcock, Rhett Miller, The Crystal Method, Frank Ocean, Kanye West, Sky Ferreira and Mac Miller. According to Stereogum, Brion's work on Mann's first solo albums "lay the groundwork for a sound that became synonymous with a strain of notable alternative acts at the turn of the century".
Brion's film scores include Hard Eight (1996), Magnolia (1999), Punch-Drunk Love (2002), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and I Heart Huckabees (both 2004), Synecdoche, New York (2008), ParaNorman (2012), Lady Bird (2017), and Christopher Robin (2018). He released his debut solo album, Meaningless, in 2001.
In the fall of 2002, Brion began producing the album Extraordinary Machine with Fiona Apple, but she later brought in producers Mike Elizondo and Brian Kehew (a friend of Brion's) to complete the album. Brion's versions leaked onto the Internet, where the album gained a cult following long before its official release.
Brion worked and performed on some of the tracks for Sean Lennon's 2006 album Friendly Fire. Lennon said that working with him was "how I would imagine it's like to work with Prince. It's like having a weird alien prodigy in your room." "Here comes the son", Interview, by Scott Bolohan, The Depaulia.
Brion has produced recordings by British pop performer Dido, Spoon, and Keane, as well as 2010's False Priest by Of Montreal. Brion also produced Best Coast's second album which was released in early 2012. "Best Coast Talks "Grown-Up" New Album, Working With Jon Brion", Pitchfork Media . Brion worked on rapper Mac Miller's album Swimming (2018), and completed production on Miller's posthumous album Circles (2020).
According to Stereogum, Brion's work on Aimee Mann's first solo albums "lay the groundwork for a sound that became synonymous with a strain of notable alternative acts at the turn of the century".
Although, rumors persist about Brion working on a second solo full-length album, as of 2023, an album has not been forthcoming. In 2004, Aimee Mann stated "Jon has at least 10 albums' worth of material," and "I think he has a hard time saying anything is finished whether he's producing or doing his own songs. Jon's a perfectionist."
Particularly in his film soundtracks, Brion is noted for his use of early analog sampling instruments, particularly the Chamberlin and Optigan, to create near-realistic emulations of certain instruments. Interview by David Wolinsky at The A.V. Club
He has earned Best Score Soundtrack Album Grammy nominations for his work on 1999's Magnolia and 2004's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Brion was hired at the last minute to write the incidental music for The Break-Up. He has also scored and provided original music for I Heart Huckabees, Punch-Drunk Love, Step Brothers (with Chris Thile), ParaNorman, The Future, Synecdoche, New York, Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird and Disney's Christopher Robin (with Geoff Zanelli). He also did live composition for a musical commentary on the Step Brothers DVD.
He also composed the score to the Disney/Pixar short film, The Blue Umbrella, working alongside Sarah Jaffe.
In April 2006, recurring tendonitis in Brion's right hand forced him to cancel all of his upcoming Largo shows. As a temporary 'farewell', he played one show only using his left hand, even looping his songs as he normally does and playing the drums with one stick. He resumed playing at Largo on a regular weekly basis later that year, transitioning to a monthly show in 2016, until the COVID-19 Pandemic. In summer 2023, Brion stated to Largo at the Coronet that he intended to resume shows in the near future. Brion resumed shows at Largo in September 2023.[4]
Recalling his approach to the Largo shows with Chicago Tribune music editor Lou Carlozo, Brion said: "I taught my hands to follow whatever was coming into my head—and wherever my consciousness would go, I had to push my hands to follow. And at some level, you just had to abandon any concern about how you'd look. Performing without a set list: That was special."
In March 2016, Brion performed his score for Punch-Drunk Love with Wordless Music Orchestra in both Los Angeles and New York City, at the Ace Hotel and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, respectively. Norah Jones provided guest vocals in New York and Joanna Newsom in Los Angeles.
In February 2018, Brion opened for John Mulaney as part of Mulaney's special, Kid Gorgeous. Brion performed during Mulaney's New York City leg of his tour, playing classic rock songs on Radio City's Mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ.
Brion had relationships with Aimee Mann during the late 1980s-early 1990s and with Mary Lynn Rajskub from 1997 to 2002.
| 1989 | Rei Momo | David Byrne | Harmonium on "I Know Sometimes a Man Is Wrong" | |
| 1991 | Kryptonita | Miguel Mateos | Mellotron, Harmonium, Hammond b3, Piano | [6] |
| 1993 | Broken Toy Shop | E | Background vocals on "Shine It All On" | |
| Whatever | Aimee Mann | Co-producer, co-writer (three tracks), bass, guitar, drums, keyboards, synthesizers, piano, background vocals, and others | ||
| Tuesdays Are Forever | D.D. Wood | Harmonium | ||
| Spilt Milk | Jellyfish | Guitar on eight tracks | ||
| In Thrall | Murray Attaway | Bass, guitar, mellotron, piano, vibraphone | ||
| Here's to the Losers | Love Jones | Keyboards, synthesizers, electric organ, vibraphone | ||
| 1994 | Love Spit Love | Love Spit Love | Keyboards, piano, string arrangements | |
| 1995 | Powerful Pain Relief | Love Jones | Keyboards, synthesizers, piano, organ | |
| I Don't Know Why I Act This Way | Jude Cole | Guitar, keyboards, harmonium, calliope | ||
| Various artists | Producing, instrumentation for "One" by Aimee Mann | |||
| I'm with Stupid | Aimee Mann | Producer, co-writer (five tracks), bass, guitars, drums and percussion, keyboards, cello, harmonica, background vocals | ||
| Sing Hollies in Reverse | Various | Performed cover of "Sorry Suzanne". | ||
| 1996 | Cherry Twister | Producer, instrumentation, background vocals | ||
| Tidal | Fiona Apple | Guitar, keyboards, vibraphone, tack piano, marimba | ||
| Bringing Down the Horse | Wallflowers | Guitar solo "One Headlight" | ||
| Braver Newer World | Jimmie Dale Gilmore | Guitar, bass, optigan | ||
| This Can't Be Life | Wild Colonials | Guitar, Chamberlin, organ | ||
| Various artists | Optigan, vibraphone on "Guilty by Association" by Joe Henry & Madonna | |||
| Susanna Hoffs | Susanna Hoffs | Guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion, drums | ||
| Prettier Than You | Brian Stevens | Guitar, clavinet | ||
| Phantom Blues | Taj Mahal | Guitar, Chamberlin | ||
| Omnipop (It's Only a Flesh Wound Lambchop) | Sam Phillips | Guitar, bass, Chamberlin, drums, piano | ||
| Beautiful Freak | Eels | Co-producer, guitar, keyboards, trombone, engineering, co-writer of "Not Ready Yet" | ||
| Just Say Noël | Various artists | Co-producer on "Christmastime" by Aimee Man with Michael Penn | ||
| 1997 | David Arnold and various artists | Guitar, sitar, harmonium on "Nobody Does It Better" by Aimee Mann | ||
| The Mommyheads | Mommyheads | Keyboards | ||
| Megiddo | Lauren Hoffman | Keyboards, organs, vibraphone | ||
| Little Head | John Hiatt | Keyboards, vibraphone | ||
| Lincoln | Lincoln | Guitar, keyboards | ||
| Farewell | Uma | Guitar, keyboards | ||
| Eighteen Over Me | Garrison Starr | Organ, vibraphone | ||
| 10 Cent Wing | Jonatha Brooke | Guitar | ||
| Daisy (Dog's Eye View album) | Dog's Eye View | Listed under "With a Little Help from my Friends" in liner notes. | ||
| 1998 | XO | Elliott Smith | Vibraphone and keyboards on two tracks | |
| Two Kinds of Laughter | Sara Hickman | Co-composer of "Coolness by Mistake" | ||
| Songs From The Pipe | The Surfers | Guitar, keyboards, background vocals | ||
| Sliding Doors soundtrack | Various artists | Producer, co-writer of "Amateur" by Aimee Man | ||
| Various artists | Producing, instrumentation, mixing on "Across the Universe" and "Please Send Me Someone to Love by Fiona Apple | |||
| Kool Trash | The Plimsouls | Piano, organ | ||
| Jubilee | Grant Lee Buffalo | Piano, Chamberlin, vibraphone, harmonium, optigan, tack piano | ||
| Got No Shadow | Mary Lou Lord | Harmonium, Chamberlin | ||
| Electro-Shock Blues | Eels | Chamberlin and organ on "Climbing to the Moon" | ||
| Burning the Daze | Marc Cohn | Harmonium, harmonica | ||
| Wishbone | Eleni Mandell | Co-producer, guitar, keyboards, Mellotron, bass, backing vocals, organ, banjo, drums, slide guitar, vibraphone, celesta, talk box | ||
| Welcome to Woop Woop | Various Artists | Producer for eels track "Dog's Life". | ||
| Lilith Fair (A Celebration Of Women In Music) | Various Artists | Listed as writer on Wild Colonials song "Charm". | ||
| North American Long Weekend | Tom Freund | Electric guitar on "Cry Baby Cry" | ||
| 1999 | Rufus Wainwright | Rufus Wainwright | Producer, additional engineering, vibraphone, marimba, keyboards, accordion, bass, guitar, organ, backing vocals, percussion, celesta, mandolin | |
| Word of Mouth Parade | Gus Black | Guitar, mandolin, keyboards | ||
| When the Pawn... | Fiona Apple | Producer, guitars, bass, keyboards, vibraphone, drums, percussion, mixing | ||
| On How Life Is | Macy Gray | Guitar, electric keyboards and synthesizers, piano, vibraphone | ||
| Jewels for Sophia | Robyn Hitchcock | Co-producer, bass, drums and percussion, keyboards, organ, background vocals, engineer | ||
| Imaginate | Taxiride | Chamberlin | ||
| Fight Songs | Old 97's | Organ on "Murder (Or a Heart Attack)" | ||
| Aimee Mann | Co-producer, co-writer of "Build That Wall", composer of "Magnolia", guitar, keyboards, organ, percussion, glockenspiel, background vocals | |||
| Breakdown | Melissa Etheridge | Guitar | ||
| After the Party | The Push Stars | Guitar | ||
| Figure 8 | Julia Darling | Electric guitar on "Bulletproof Belief" | ||
| Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo | Aimee Mann | Co-producer, guitar, drums and percussion, keyboards, background vocals | ||
| Put Another Date on Life | Solin | Drums on "When the Mood Swings" | ||
| 2000 | Two Lips: The Lost Album | Dan Castellaneta | Guitars, saxophone | |
| Magnolia score | Himself | Composer | ||
| Tonight and the Rest of My Life | Nina Gordon | Bass, guitars, keyboards, organ | ||
| Teddy Thompson | Teddy Thompson | Guitar on two tracks | ||
| From There to Here | John Oszajca | Guitar | ||
| Figure 8 | Elliott Smith | Background vocals on "Happiness"/"The Gondola Man" | ||
| Breach | The Wallflowers | Additional musician | ||
| A Star for Bram | Robyn Hitchcock | Producer, bass, guitars, drums, keyboards, piano, background vocals | ||
| Oh What a Beautiful Morning | Eels | Writer of "Not Ready Yet" | ||
| 2001 | Trust No One | Dave Navarro | Intro voice and slide bass, "Mourning Son", guitars on "Very Little Daylight" | |
| Tweekend | The Crystal Method | Bass, guitars, drums, keyboards, engineering, mixing on "Over the Line" | ||
| The Herethereafter | Miranda Lee Richards | Producer, bass, guitar, Chamberlin, bells, optigan, Marxophone, engineering | ||
| Meaningless | Himself | Producer, lead vocals, bass, guitars, drums, keyboards | ||
| 2002 | Up | Peter Gabriel | Mandolin and Chamberlin on "More Than This" | |
| The Last DJ | Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers | Arrangement, conducting | ||
| The Instigator | Rhett Miller | Producer, bass, guitars, drums, piano, organ, vibraphone, background vocals, co-composer of "Things That Disappear" | ||
| Robyn Sings | Robyn Hitchcock | Guitar | ||
| Restless Night | Julianna Raye | Piano | ||
| No Fear | Abra Moore | Bass, guitar, drums, keyboards | ||
| Largo | Brad Mehldau | Producer, guitar, guitar synthesizer, prepared piano, Chamberlin, percussion, co-composer of "Dropjes" | ||
| Kissin Time | Marianne Faithfull | Drums, keyboards, Chamberlin, celeste, harmonium | ||
| Have You Fed the Fish? | Badly Drawn Boy | Bass, guitars, keyboards Chamberlin, orchestral arrangements, conductor | ||
| Alice Peacock | Alice Peacock | Guitar, organ | ||
| Punch-Drunk Love soundtrack | Himself | Producer, vocals, composer, instrumentation, mixing | ||
| About a Boy soundtrack | Badly Drawn Boy | Bass, guitar, vibraphone, background vocals | ||
| 2003 | To Whom It May Concern | Lisa Marie Presley | Guitar on "Lights Out" | |
| Thirteenth Step | A Perfect Circle | Instrumentation on "The Nurse Who Loved Me" | ||
| Return to Planet Earth | Kim Fox | Guitars, ukulele, celeste | ||
| Luxor | Robyn Hitchcock | Guest musician on "You Remind Me of You" | ||
| Blondes Prefer the Gentlemen | The Gentlemen | Chamberlin, mellotron | ||
| Baby I'm Bored | Evan Dando | Co-producer, co-writer (five tracks), instrumentation | ||
| Amorama | Érica García | Guitar, keyboards, sampling | ||
| 2004 | Virginia Creeper | Grant-Lee Phillips | Ukulele | |
| The Giant Pin | The Nels Cline Singers | Chamberlin, harmonium, celeste, sampling | ||
| Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind soundtrack | Himself | Producer, vocals, composer, instrumentation, mixing | ||
| Mutual Admiration Society | Mutual Admiration Society | Co-writer (two tracks) | ||
| I Heart Huckabees soundtrack | Himself | Producer, vocals, composer, instrumentation, mixing | ||
| Legion of Boom | The Crystal Method | Guitar on "Realizer" | ||
| From a Basement on the Hill | Elliott Smith | Additional recording | ||
| Everyone Is Here | Finn Brothers | Co-producer, guitars, drums, Harmonium, organ, percussion, programming | ||
| A Strange Mess of Flowers | Davíd Garza | Keyboards | ||
| 2005 | Winter Pays for Summer | Glen Phillips | Guitar, toy piano | |
| Self Help Serenade | Marjorie Fair | Bass, drums, piano | ||
| Late Registration | Kanye West | Co-executive producer, instrumentation, string and brass arrangement, "the keys right now" | ||
| Fires | Nerina Pallot | Guitar, keyboards | ||
| Fate Is the Hunter | Kate Earl | Organ | ||
| Extraordinary Machine | Fiona Apple | Co-producer (two tracks), bass, marimba, orchestral arrangement | ||
| Can'tneverdidnothin' | Nikka Costa | Organ on "I Gotta Know", synthesizer on "Happy in the Morning" | ||
| Before the Poison | Marianne Faithfull | Co-writer of "City of Quartz" | ||
| 2006 | Wait | The Polyphonic Spree | Producer | |
| The Believer | Rhett Miller | Co-writer of "I Believe She's Lying", bass, guitar, Chamberlain, piano, | ||
| Late Orchestration | Kanye West | Producer | ||
| Friendly Fire | Sean Lennon | Bass, guitars, drums, organ | ||
| Blinders On | Sean Watkins | Piano | ||
| Blue Collar (album) | Rhymefest | Producer and additional instruments "Bullet" | ||
| 2007 | Graduation | Kanye West | Co-producer on "Drunk and Hot Girls", keyboards on "I Wonder", percussion on "Homecoming" | |
| Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga | Spoon | Production, bass, Chamberlin on "The Underdog" | ||
| Fuzzbox | The Section Quartet | Producer of "Phenomena" | ||
| 2008 | Tooth of Crime | T Bone Burnett | Chamberlin, baritone guitar | |
| Synecdoche, New York soundtrack | Himself | Producer, vocals, composer, instrumentation, mixing | ||
| Safe Trip Home | Dido | Co-producer, co-writer (five tracks), bass, guitars, drums, keyboards, piano, celeste, cello, additional percussion, orchestral arrangements, conductor, mixing | ||
| Perfect Symmetry | Keane | Co-producer on "You Haven't Told Me Anything" | ||
| Let It Come to You | Taylor Eigsti | Co-writer of "Not Ready Yet" | ||
| Big Bad World | Plain White T's | Chamberlin on "1, 2, 3, 4" | ||
| 2009 | Sara Watkins | Sara Watkins | Writer of "Same Mistakes", guitars | |
| Rhett Miller | Rhett Miller | Bass, guitar | ||
| Divided by Night | The Crystal Method | Synthesizer on "Divided by Night", marxophone on "Sine Language" | ||
| Christina Courtin | Christina Courtin | Bass, guitars, Chamberlin, marxophone | ||
| Balm in Gilead | Rickie Lee Jones | Bass, guitars | ||
| An Eluardian Instance (Jon Brion Remix EP) | of Montreal & Himself | Producer, composer, instrumentation, mixing | ||
| 2010 | Mean Old Man | Jerry Lee Lewis | Bass, guitars | |
| Intriguer | Crowded House | Guitar and vocal samples on "Twice if You're Lucky" | ||
| Highway Rider | Brad Mehldau | Producer, mixing | ||
| False Priest | of Montreal | Co-producer, drums, keyboards, synthesizers, mixing, engineering | ||
| Dirty Baby | Nels Cline | Electric piano, background vocals | ||
| Cho Dependent | Margaret Cho | Co-producer, co-writer, guitar, drums, piano, background vocals on "Enemies" | ||
| Chickens in Love | Various artists | Performer on "So Sleepy" (The Gummy Bears)" by Fiona Apple featuring Brion and the Punch Brothers | ||
| Antifogmatic | Punch Brothers | Producer, mixing, engineering | ||
| 2011 | Rhett Miller | Guitar, drums, piano, background vocals | ||
| Rave On Buddy Holly | Various artists | Production, vocals, guitars, percussion on "Everyday" with Fiona Apple | ||
| Belle | Bic Runga | Guitar, synthesizer, floor tom | ||
| Various artists | Producer of "Where Our Destination Lies" & "When the Sun Goes Down" by Benjamin Gibbard | |||
| Christmas | Michael Bublé | Orchestral arrangements on "All I Want for Christmas Is You" | ||
| 2012 | This Is 40 Soundtrack | Various artists | Producer, composer, instrumentation on "Theme 1 (Debbie and Oliver)" | |
| Katy Perry | Producer, instrumentation, "The One That Got Away" (Acoustic) | |||
| The Only Place | Best Coast | Producer, bass, guitars, keyboards, percussion | ||
| Rize of the Fenix | Tenacious D | Bass, synthesizers, and mellotron on "The Ballad of Hollywood Jack and the Rage Kage" | ||
| Pines | Alison Sudol | Bass, guitar, keyboards, pump organ | ||
| ParaNorman soundtrack | Himself | Producer, composer, instrumentation, conductor | ||
| Ghost | Sky Ferreira | Co-producer and co-writer of "Ghost" | ||
| Floratone II | Floratone | Keyboards | ||
| 2013 | Tim McGraw & Friends | Tim McGraw | Featured musician on "Middle Age Crazy" | |
| Various artists | Producer of "Crazy in Love" performed by Emeli Sandé and The Bryan Ferry Orchestra | |||
| Girl Who Got Away | Dido | Co-producer, co-writer of "Lost", keyboards, orchestral arrangements, conductor, mixing | ||
| Dreamchaser | Sarah Brightman | Guitar, piano, celeste, vibraphone | ||
| Division Street | Harper Simon | Guitar, synthesizer | ||
| Sky Ferreira | Producer and co-writer of "I'm on Top" and "Werewolf (I Like You)" | |||
| 2014 | Rock & Roll Time | Jerry Lee Lewis | Guitar | |
| Heigh Ho | Blake Mills | Piano, tiple | ||
| 2016 | Young in All the Wrong Ways | Sara Watkins | Bass, guitar, piano, celeste, mellotron | |
| Lemonade | Beyonce | Orchestral arrangements | ||
| Rainbow Ends | Emitt Rhodes | Guitar on "Dog on a Chain" | ||
| Blonde | Frank Ocean | Co-producer, keyboards, orchestral arrangements, drum programming | ||
| 2017 | The Dream | Tashaki Miyaki | Musician | |
| Lady Bird soundtrack | Himself | Producer, composer, instrumentation | ||
| 2018 | Dirty Computer | Janelle Monáe | Co-producer, writer of "Jane's Dream", synthesizer, mallets | |
| Swimming | Mac Miller | Co-producer, co-writer of "Come Back to Earth", "Hurt Feelings", "Perfecto", "Ladders", "Small Worlds", "2009", and "So It Goes". | ||
| Himself & Geoff Zanelli | Co-composer | |||
| World on Sticks | Sam Phillips | Electric Guitar - "Teilhard", Bass, Loops Guitar - "Continuous Loop". | ||
| 2019 | Western Stars | Bruce Springsteen | guitars, timpani, sitar, celesta, drums, synthesizer | |
| 2020 | Circles | Mac Miller | Completed production after Miller's death | |
| 2023 | Joy'All | Jenny Lewis | Chamberlin |
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