Jonathan Still

Jonathan grew up in a musical family. His mother had taught piano and at age 7, he was thrust into the life of competitive piano that would last for over a decade. As college approached, so did the intrigue of another instrument. This one being the guitar, an instrument also played by his sister previously.

Jonathan began to learn and teach himself the guitar and ended up studying classical guitar at the University of North Texas, graduating in 1997. There, he also began a rock band where he began honing his skills while composing all the instrumentation, including the drums which had also become a passion. Eventually, this feeling grew so strongly that he decided to switch to playing the drums in the band. The band played the club scene, off and on, for a few years and recorded a couple of projects over that time in Dallas.

In the meantime, upon college graduation, Jonathan had found interest in composing music for picture and found his way to the door of Juniper Music in Dallas. A company which had only a few years earlier began its commercial path in the music and sound design field, it could be argued that Juniper dominates locally and nationally today. They allowed Jonathan to really build his compositional and production abilities in a relationship that's so far lasted nearly 12 years. He has also recently formed his own custom music production company called LimeLight Sound, which similarly produces music for television and radio advertisements, music libraries, and independent movies and documentaries.

Rewind back to 2001, after much encouragement from his future wife, Jonathan set out to compose his first 'instrumental' album called 'In Awe of It All' as a lark (or at least to get some of these songs of a different vibe down on tape). It would be a collection of tracks that featured the instruments naturally familiar to him, along with a few tracks that would show a symbiotic relationship between the ethereal and the slow groove; not exactly the heavy rock band. It was a fun experience which pushed Jonathan to record a second album which would eventually be known to the world as 'Under the Bodhi Tree'. The album picked up where the previous had left off, and began to incorporate subtle vocals, thematic passages, intricate percussion, and some complex meters in the music. The album was picked up by the UK's New World Music label in 2005 and released world wide in 2006. Since then,'Under the Bodhi Tree' has won the Independent Music Award for Best New Age Album and the New Age Album of the Year from the Coalition of Visionary Resources (COVR).

Kindah Mardam Bey of A&E Vibe says of Under the Bodhi Tree "Still's songs have a universal quality with hints of specific international influences layered in. He seems a seasoned musician far beyond his years, which is probably one of the reasons why this collection won an Independent Music Award." Debbie Bebbington of Melliflua says "Under the Bodhi Tree is one of the best new age albums I've heard recently... it often seamlessly blends spirituality into damn good tunes." And Peter Manzi of New Age Retailer says "#Jonathan# ...is on par with the best musical veterans and presents ideal music for self-discovery and reflection."

Jonathan continues to score for broadcast media living in Dallas, Texas. And with his 2007 release 'The Awakening' and his latest release 'Euphoria', Jonathan seems to be divided with his resource of time. But he hopes to continue to put together albums that quench the thirst of his fans and for those future listeners who have yet to experience the combination of delicacy and power that is Jonathan Still's music.

Click here to visit the Jonathan Still website.