Jed Danyel Kurzel (born 1976) is an Australian singer-songwriter-guitarist and film composer. He is a founding member of The Mess Hall (from 2001), a blues rock duo. His older brother Justin Kurzel is a film director and screenwriter.
Jed Kurzel | |
|---|---|
_(4256661406).jpg) Kurzel live with The Mess Hall in 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jed Danyel Kurzel |
| Born | 1976 (age 47–48) Gawler, South Australia, Australia |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
Life and career
editKurzel was born in c.1976 and, with his older brother Justin Kurzel (born c.1974), grew up in Gawler, South Australia.[1][2] Their father, Zdzislaw Kurzel (1946–2006), was from Poland and had migrated to Australia in 1960, where he became a taxi driver.[3][4][5] In the 1990s, Kurzel moved to Sydney, where Justin was studying at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).[2]
In 2001 Kurzel on lead vocals and guitar, Anthony Johnsen on drums and a bass guitarist formed a blues-rock group, the Mess Hall in Sydney – the bass guitarist soon left but was not replaced, they continued as a duo.[6] Kurzel recalled "When the clubs asked us where our bass player was, we used to lie and say he was sick."[6] Their debut album The Mess Hall was released in June 2003. In early 2004 Johnsen was replaced by Cec Condon on drums and vocals.[7] Their third album Devils Elbow (October 2007) won the Australian Music Prize.[8]
In 2000 Kurzel composed the film score for the short subject, Sammy Blue, at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, with Kim Farrant directing.[9][10] He worked for Farrant again: providing the score for Naked on the Inside (2006), a feature film documentary on body image.[10] In 2009 he composed music for Castor & Pollux, a short film, directed by Ben Briand.[11]
In 2011 Kurzel provided the music score for the directorial debut feature film by Justin, Snowtown.[12] At the APRA-AGSC Screen Music Awards of 2011 Kurzel won Feature Film Score of the Year.[13] It was nominated for Australian Film Institute Award for Best Original Music Score.[14] The related soundtrack album was nominated for ARIA Award for Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album in that same year.[15][16]
Kurzel also wrote the scores for Son of a Gun, Slow West and the documentary All This Mayhem. In 2015, he worked again with his brother on Macbeth, followed by Assassin's Creed in 2016. He replaced Harry Gregson-Williams as the composer of Alien: Covenant.[17]
Filmography
editFilm
editDocumentaries
edit| Year | Title | Director | Studio(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Naked on the Inside | Kim Farrant | Magic Real Picture Company | |
| 2014 | All This Mayhem | Eddie Martin | Hopscotch Films | AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score in a Documentary[22] |
Shorts
edit| Year | Title | Director | Studio(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Sammy Blue | Kim Farrant | AFTRS |
| 2007 | The Rose of Ba Ziz | Aden Young | |
| 2009 | Castor & Pollux | Ben Briand | Benah |
| 2014 | Dook Stole Christmas | Jennifer Kent | Smoking Gun Productions |
Awards and nominations
editARIA Music Awards
editThe ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony held by the Australian Recording Industry Association. They commenced in 1987.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Snowtown | Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album | Nominated | [23] |
External links
edit
- Jed Kurzel at IMDb
- Jed Kurzel discography at Discogs
References
edit- ^ Quinn, Karl (1 October 2015). "Jed Kurzel on why Macbeth echoes Snowtown and how the score was almost electronic". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ^ a b Ross, Annabel (29 November 2014). "Two of us: Justin and Jed Kurzel". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ^ Gibbs, Ed (21 May 2015). "Cannes 2015: After Snowtown and Macbeth, Kurzel brothers to make sports comedy". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ^ "Item details for: A12009, 1011-1015". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 25 March 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Winterford, Brett (1 May 2008). "The Mess Hall – Gig Reviews". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ^ a b "It takes two … to play the blues". The Age. Fairfax Media. 15 June 2003. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ^ Jed Kurzel Archived 26 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine, thebabadook.com, access date 2 November 2015
- ^ Winners Archived 17 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine, thecoopersamp.com.au, access date 2 November 2015
- ^ "Sammy Blue". Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS). National Library of Australia. Archived from the original on 1 February 2006. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ^ a b "Naked on the Inside" (PDF). Compétition Longs Métrages Documentaires (in French). International Festival of Films de Femmes de Créteil. 2008. p. 41. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ^ "TIFF52 – Screenings" (in Greek). Thessaloniki International Film Festival. 8 November 2011. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ^ Interview with Jed Kurzel, filmmusicmag.com, access date 2 November 2015
- ^ "Feature Film Score of the Year". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC). 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ^ "Jed Kurzel's Snowtown Score Nominated for AACTA Award". Ivy League. 1 December 2001. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ^ "The Countdown Begins....Nominations Announced". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). 11 October 2011. Archived from the original on 16 October 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ^ "2011 ARIA Awards Winners By Year". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ^ "Jed Kurzel to Score Ridley Scott's 'Alien: Covenant'". 25 December 2016.
- ^ "2011 Screen Music Awards - Winners and Nominees". APRA. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
- ^ "2011 ARIA Nominations Announced". Take 40. Take 40 Australia (MCM Entertainment). 12 October 2011. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "1st AACTA Awards - Past Winners and Nominees". AACTA. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "3rd AACTA Awards - Past Winners and Nominees". AACTA. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "4th AACTA Awards - Past Winners and Nominees". AACTA. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ ARIA Award previous winners. "History Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 16 July 2022.