Jeffery Alan Jones is one of the most prolific figures in sound design – a creative spirit with outstanding achievements in the entertainment industry, considered by many as the gold standard in post-production sound. He has worked on over 250 projects in films, animations, commercials, and video games, winning numerous awards and accolades throughout his career. Now it’s time to discover the fascinating journey behind his success and find out more about his lifelong relationship with sound and music.
A passion rooted in childhood
Jeff’s story begins in Long Beach, California, the town where he grew up and fell in love with the sounds of nature. Stemming from his early childhood, his passion for sound and music was nurtured by the proximity to the ocean as he enjoyed listening to the waves and surfing at the beach. As a member of the Boy Scouts, he also spent a lot of time in the wilderness where he was surrounded by sounds of nature. His early passion was doubled by his formal education and thus began his lifelong journey into the fascinating world of sound and music.
At the age of five, he started taking piano lessons and became mesmerized by this versatile instrument. Then, in middle school, he began taking percussion lessons in parallel. His official debut in the music industry came in high school when he decided to form a band called The Mana Rays, a surf band where he played the drums. The band was a success, performing at parties and clubs all across Southern California. This marked the beginning of Jeff’s “rockstar era” as he continued to tour across the States with several other bands.
However, Jeff kept his feet on the ground and decided to focus on his music education. His fascination with the piano and classical composers such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin led him to earn a bachelor’s degree in piano performance and a master’s degree in music composition at California State University, Long Beach. He furthered his education at UCLA where he studied film scoring and also went on to graduate from the Dick Grove School of Music with a degree in jazz piano and arranging. His studies had a great influence on his professional trajectory, expanding his musical horizons and shaping his style and approach to musical composition and sound design.
Building Alan Audio Works, a state-of-the-art sound studio and audio oasis
In 1990, taking an interest in electronic music production, Jeff was inspired to build his own music recording studio at home, starting with a 4-track analog tape recorder and a Mac Plus computer. His idea soon materialized into what is now one of the most successful audio production studios around, Alan Audio Works, located in a tranquil area in Los Angeles. Being surrounded by nature and wildlife, AAW serves as both a state-of-the-art studio with cutting-edge sound equipment and a creative oasis where music and sound come together in an otherworldly setting.
Jeff’s journey into music production started when he landed a job as a film composer after answering a college ad. He immediately became captivated with the idea of writing music for films and the creative outlet that this discipline provided. One project after another, Jeff managed to expand his network and collaborate with notable professionals in the filmmaking industry. This experience helped him kick off his career in sound design and work on amazing projects where he could showcase his skills and talents as a composer, sound designer, and re-recording mixer.
AAW is also the place where Jeff mixed many exciting movies, such as “Bayou Caviar,” starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Richard Dreyfuss; All-Star Weekend” starring Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey, Jr., Gerard Butler, and Benicio Del Toro, and “Nine Bullets,” starring Lena Heady and Sam Worthington.
Most notable achievements
With a career in sound design and musical production spanning decades, Jeff has a number of impressive accomplishments under his belt.
His film career alone is pretty amazing: he has over 150 films to his credit, working as both a composer and sound designer, and has won many awards for various films. His film “Sound” won over 50 awards at various film festivals, including the award for Best Sound Design at the Queen Palm Film Festival in 2019. In 2017, Jeffery won the Grand Jury Award – Best Narrative Feature at SXSW Film Festival for music and sound design in the film, “Most Beautiful Island”, and was acclaimed for his work in the film “Bitch” which debuted at The Sundance Film festival.
Jeff also achieved success in the video game industry, working on major titles such as Call of Duty, Borderlands, Star Trek, Ghost Recon, Pirates of the Caribbean, Mortal Kombat, and Star Wars. He’s also no stranger to the advertising world, having collaborated with big brands, including Coke, Nike, Reebok, GoPro, and Google.
As Jeff himself notes, one of the biggest highlights of his career was conducting The National Chinese Orchestra in Beijing, China, and touring with them all across Asia. He also worked with the famous filmmaker Sherwood Hu who invited him to teach classes at the prestigious Shanghai University for the Arts.
New projects on the horizon
Being in high demand all around the world, one can’t help but wonder what’s next for this master of sound. His plans for the future are as bold as you can imagine. Jeff has a long list of amazing movies coming out, including “Groove Tales,” an animated feature starring Jamie Foxx, “All Star Weekend” starring Robert Downey Jr., Gerard Butler, and “Nine Bullets” with Lena Heady and Sam Worthington. But Jeffery Alan Jones’ ultimate goal isn’t to check as many movies as possible or get involved in large-scale projects just for the sake of it. What keeps him going is the desire to evolve as a professional and enjoy the creative process as much as possible. For Jeff, creativity and passion are the driving forces behind his work.
