Studio/Live Music
Called out of school to tour with ELP
I was a student at the Julliard School of Music back in 1977 when I received a call from the manager of Emerson, Lake and Palmer asking if I wanted to go on tour! I had to get special permission from the Dean. It was my first rock concert tour and what a way to start! — You'll find Joel on thousands of tracks of recorded music from Contemporary Pop to Western Blues. Here is a sample of the artists who call on Joel for studio and concert work: · Limp Bizkit · Counting Crows · Incubus · Days of the New · The Mars Volta · The Black Eyed Peas · Mary J. Blige · Barbra Streisand · Barry Manilo · Paul Anka · Michael Bublé · Leonard Cohen · Sheryl Crow · Rascal Flatts · Carrie Underwood · Johnny Lang · David Campbell · Jennifer Warnes · Beck · Dido · Nelly Furtado · Dave Matthews Band · Mariah Carey · Avril Lavigne · more on AllMusic.com |
Television
Simon Cowell & "the weird violin player"
There's this funny moment on American Idol (season 7) after Brooke White's performance of Dolly Parton's Jolene. Simon Cowell is not impressed with her rendition and refers to me as "the weird violin player"! We're all friends on the show and Simon did apologize afterwards. — The Fox Broadcasting Company relies on Joel as both a concert master and violinist for many of its programs. Other regulars include ABC, CBC, The Recording Academy, and Warner Bros. Joel works on: · American Idol, 2004-2010 · The X-Factor · Dancing with the Stars · Rock Star · The Voice · The Simpsons · Family Guy · The Cleveland Show · The Tonight Show · Ellen DeGeneres · Larry King Show with Josh Groban · The Grammy Awards · The Academy Awards · The Billboard Awards / American Music Awards · Alley McBeal (Vonda Shepard's songs) · Alias · Saturday Night Live · VH1 Storytellers · Tribute to Heroes 2001 · MusiCares Tribute to Paul McCartney 2012 · Unplugged with Alanis Morissette / Stone Temple Pilots / The Eagles, ... |
Film
When being second fiddle is really cool
I was called in to replace a delayed violinist Itzhak Perlman just to run through Smile for Barbra Streisand. This was a nerve racking highlight in my career because there are difficult passages and Mrs. Streisand was right there listening. Well, she and composer Jeremy Lubbock must have liked it because I was called back two weeks later—so now you can hear me perform on The Movie Album! — Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, and Michael Giacchino are the legendary names in scoring music for films. Joel is a regular contributor in the performance of original motion picture soundtracks for films such as: · Epic · Oblivion · Men in Black 3 · Star Trek · Star Trek: First Contact · Ted · Wanted · Blades of Glory · Shooter · The Last Sin Eater · Eragon · Little Children · The Nativity Story · Constantine · Fantastic 4 · Meet the Fockers · Hitman (Joel wrote the score for this 1991 Chuck Norris movie) ... |
Theatre
2 years, 600 shows on the road
I worked on five productions of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas including two tours. The tours were intense. We performed about 600 shows! — Joel has worked on Broadway and in the recording of the original soundtracks for theatrical productions such as: · Hairspray · Cirque du Soleil: Kà · Peter Pan · The Human Comedy · Jekyll & Hyde · The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas · Anything Goes · Little Women · ...and more |