Jono Grant

Jono Grant (Jonothan Jonas Grant) is a Toronto-based composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist who was nominated for a Genie award for "Achievement in Music/Original Score"^[1][2] on his first film score Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang in 1999.^[3] The feature was created by Shaftesbury Films and Directed by George Bloomfield; starring: Gary Busey, Miranda Richardson and Ice-T.^[3] He was also nominated for a Gemini award in the category "Best Original Music Score for an Animated Program or Series"^[1] in 2006 for the first episode of Captain Flamingo, an animated series created by Breakthrough Films and Television.^[4] Jono has scored hundreds of television episodes and numerous films^[5] from his personal studio Victory Drive Music located in Toronto's Leslieville.

In the mid 90s, Jono made his early mark as a composer, producer, arranger and performer with a multitude of bands including the eccentric jazz/lounge outfit Jaymz Bee and the Royal Jelly Orchestra, producing the first three albums for BMG and co-writing the debut album with lyricist Bee.^[6] The band toured across Canada and did multiple television appearances with Jono as musical director, keyboardist and guitarist. During this time Jono was introduced to pop artist John Southworth, producing and arranging on his first album: "Mars Pennsylvania" in 1996.^[7] That same year he also produced The Shuffle Demons album: "Get Right". (Jono would later co-produce three Juno-nominated albums with Toronto Jazz saxophonist and Shuffle Demon Richard Underhill including the Juno award winning album: "Tales From the Blue Lounge") ^[8]

In 1997, Jono was hired as an arranger on Kim Stockwood's EMI release: "Twelve Years Old" and also produced and arranged her Christmas hit "Marshmallow World" for the EMI compilation "Christmas at Home" the following year.^[9] (Nearly a decade later, Jono and Kim would create a full Christmas album entitled "I Love Santa", co-writing the title track, also for EMI.) Jono arranged strings for The Tea Party (EMI) for a live Much Music simulcast performance featuring the song "Psychopomp" in the mid-summer of 1998.^[10] Then in 1999, Jono teamed up with Richard Underhill and Great Bob Scott in the Electro-Jazz improv band Astrogroove.^[11] They played numerous shows including the Montreal Jazz Festival and the Beaches International Jazz festival that same year. Jono produced the debut self-titled CD which was released in 2000.

It was at this time Jono started working as a composer in film and television beginning with the aforementioned Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang and following up with MTV's Undergrads and Radio Free Roscoe for Family Channel; (both series created by Decode Entertainment.) From this point to the present, Jono did a variety of film and television work including the Shaftesbury series Screech Owls, Overruled and Life with Derek, Decode's Girl Stuff, Boy Stuff and Captain Flamingo for Breakthrough Entertainment. During this period Jono continued to produce recording artists.^[12][12] Recently, Jono scored the Lifetime film "An Officer and a Murderer", nominated for a 2014 Canadian Screen Award for "Best Original Score for a Program"^[4] and also just finished scoring season 2 of the original Sprout series: "The Chica Show" for NBC Kids.^[13]

Scoring Credits (Film, Television and Games)

References

External links