Jeff Mercel is an American

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments, often but not exclusively at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as woodwind doubler, doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and mor ...

, composer, and studio musician, best known for his time in the indie rock band,

Mercury Rev Mercury Rev is an American rock band formed in 1989 in Buffalo, New York,
with In 1996, Mercel played drums with the band Grand Mal on their self-titled album released by Number Six Records.

Time with Mercury Rev

Mercel first played with Mercury Rev on their breakthrough 1998 album, "Deserter's Songs", playing drums, both in studio and on tour. For the band's next album, 2001's "All is Dream", his role expanded to pianos, contributing to the arranging, mixing, and producing. He stayed with Mercury Rev for the next nine years, playing on the albums "The Secret Migration" (2005), "Hello Blackbird" (2006), "Back to Mine" (2006), "Snowflake Midnight" (2008), and "Strange Attractor" (2008). In 2011 Mercel rejoined with the band for a world tour to promote the release of the double disc reissue of "Deserter's Songs."

Work as a composer

During his time with Mercury Rev, Mercel helped score the feature-length film, Bye Bye Blackbird (film), Bye Bye, Blackbird (2005). In 2010, Mercel left working with Mercury Rev full-time to pursue work as a composer. His work has appeared in numerous television shows such as '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' on CBS, and Showtime's ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' is a weekly hour-long American radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internationally, and is ...

''. His work can also be heard in commercials for

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

, and a

Got Milk? Got Milk? (often stylized as got milk?) is an American advertising campaign on television and YouTube encouraging the consumption of milk and dairy products. Created by the advertising agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners for the California Mi ...

ad campaign featuring

Salma Hayek Salma Valgarma Hayek Pinault ( , ; ; born September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa (1989 TV series), Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well a ...

. Mercel has also worked in film scoring the animated short, ''Marvin'' (2010) starring Steve Coogan, and the live action shorts ''Daniel'' (2010), ''Chaser'' (2012), and ''Sam'' (2012). In 2012 he composed the music for the feature film " 5 Shells."

Discography

Filmography

References

External links

Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercel, Jeff American multi-instrumentalists Living people Year of birth missing (living people)