John Lissauer is an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, producer, and

performer The performing arts are The arts, arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art ob ...

. At the age of 19, he arranged the first recordings of

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and songwriter. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and ...

. Lissauer went on to produce and arrange a pair of

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

albums, including the song "

Hallelujah ''Hallelujah'' (; , Modern ) is an interjection from the Hebrew language, used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Tanakh (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four times in the Christ ...

" which was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

in 2019. He has been a composer or music producer for record albums, films, and radio and TV commercials. Lissauer received a

Clio In Greek mythology, Clio ( , ; ), also spelled Kleio, Сleio, or Cleo, is the muse of history, or in a few mythological accounts, the muse of lyre-playing. Etymology Clio's name is derived from the Greek root κλέω/κλείω (meaning ...

"Campaign of the Decade" award for his work for Polaroid.

Early life and education

Lissauer was raised in

Hauppauge, New York Hauppauge ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the towns of Islip and Smithtown in western Suffolk County, New York, on Long Island. Its population in 2022 was estimated at 20,401 by the U.S. Census Bureau. Despite the offici ...

. From age 11 until he graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

, Lissauer studied with

Joseph Allard Joseph Allard (December 31, 1910 – May 3, 1991) was a professor of saxophone and clarinet at the Juilliard School, the New England Conservatory, and the Manhattan School of Music. He also held adjunct positions at many other schools. He succeed ...

at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

. Lissauer attended Yale University and graduated with honors in music.

Career

Lissauer plays piano, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and saxophone. He began arranging music for

while still at Yale. He taught at Yale for a year, and then became a session piano player. As a composer and music producer, he has worked with

Bette Midler Bette Midler ( ;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and author. Throughout her five-decade career Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Bette Midler, numero ...

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

, and

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American Soul music, soul and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Over his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA certification, RIAA-certified ...

. In Canada to produce a record for

Lewis Furey Lewis Furey, born with the name Lewis Greenblatt (7 June 1949), is a Canadian composer, singer, violinist, pianist, actor and director. Career Born in Montreal, Quebec to French and American parents, Furey trained as a classical violinist, and ...

, Lissauer was approached by Cohen at a Furey concert. The two met again several weeks later in New York to produce the ''

New Skin for the Old Ceremony ''New Skin for the Old Ceremony'', released in 1974, is the fourth studio album by Leonard Cohen. On this album, he begins to evolve away from the rawer sound of his earlier albums, with violas, mandolins, banjos, guitars, percussion and other in ...

'' album. John Miller, who played bass on the album, described Lissauer's approach to music as "very particular, European, simple but complex, highly imaginative". ''New Skin for the Old Ceremony'' would make the Top Thirty in the United Kingdom. After the album was completed, Cohen appointed Lissauer as the musical director for his next two tours; Lissauer played piano, organ, saxophone, and percussion on the tours. In 1983, Lissauer again worked with Cohen to produce the album ''

Various Positions ''Various Positions'' is the seventh studio album by Leonard Cohen, released in December 1984 (and February 1985). It marked not only his turn to a modern sound and use of synthesizers (particularly on the opening track), but also, after the harm ...

'', including the arrangement of "Hallelujah", which would go on to become one of the most recorded songs of its time. Disappointed when

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

decided against a U.S. release of the album, Lissauer decided to focus his efforts on composing for films and TV. Although he had given up record producing, in 2006 Lissauer arranged several songs on '' Blue Alert'' by

Anjani Anjani Thomas (born July 10, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist, best known for her work with singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, as well as Carl Anderson, Frank Gambale, and Stanley Clarke. She became a solo artist in 2000. Lif ...

as a favor for Cohen. In 2022, Lissauer appeared in the documentary ''Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song'', and composed the score.

Personal life

Lissauer was married to Erin Dickins, with whom he restored an overgrown 35-acre property an hour north of New York City that had been owned previously by composer

Frederick Loewe Frederick Loewe ( ; born Friedrich "Fritz" Löwe, ; June 10, 1901 – February 14, 1988

. In 1984, he married Lilian, with whom he had one son.

Select composer/production discography

Select filmography

Films

* ''Threebound'' (Exit 74 Productions) * '' David & Layla'' (Newroz Films) * ''Seven'' (Cecchi Gori Pictures) * '' The Last Godfather'' (TLG) * ''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is a comic book Limited series (comics), limited series by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 19 ...

'' (Warner Bros.) * ''

That Thing You Do! ''That Thing You Do!'' is a 1996 American musical comedy-drama film written and directed by Tom Hanks, in his feature writing and directorial debut. Set in 1960s rock and roll culture, it chronicles the rise and fall of a fictional one-hit won ...

'' (Clavius Base) * '' Pokémon: The First Movie'' (4Kids Entertainment) * '' Pokémon the Movie 2000'' (4Kids Entertainment) * ''Managua'' (Logo Entertainment) * ''

Apartment 1303 is a Japanese horror film, directed by Ataru Oikawa, that revolves around a woman who investigates a series of suicides in her late sister's apartment. Based on '' Ju-on'' horror author original novel. Plot Living on her own for the first tim ...

'' (Amuse) * ''All American Bikini Car Wash'' (Meridien Films) * ''End Call'' (MonteCristo International Entertainment) * '' Gods and Generals'' (Ted Turner Pictures) * ''So This is Christmas'' (Foster Entertainment) * '' Fantastica'' (E.I. Productions) * ''Dark Disciple'' (Ambassador Motion Pictures) * '' The Rubber Gun'' (St. Lawrence Film Productions) * ''L'Ange et la Femme'' (Films RSL) * '' Montreal Main'' (Canadian Film Development Corporation) * '' Beyond Paradise'' (New Roz Films) * ''

Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang (1978 film) ''Jacob Two-Two Meets The Hooded Fang'' is a 1978 film adaptation of Mordecai Richler's children's novel by the same name. He was a father of five children, with the youngest, Jacob, inspiring his character Jacob Two-Two. The main character is J ...

'' (Gulkin Productions) * '' La Tete de Normande St. Onge'' (Cinépix) * ''

Rosewater Rose water, or rosewater, is a flavoured water created by steeping rose petals in water. It is typically made as a by-product during the distillation of rose petals to create rose oil for perfumes. Rose water is widely utilized to flavour cul ...

'' (Busboy Productions) * ''Pikachu's Vacation'' (4Kids Entertainment) * '' Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns'' (Anime World Osaka) * '' Apartment 1303 3D'' (1303 Productions) * ''

Pokémon Detective Pikachu ''Pokémon Detective Pikachu'' is a 2019 fantasy film directed by Rob Letterman. Based on the ''Pokémon'' franchise, the film is a loose adaptation of the Detective Pikachu (video game), 2018 video game of the same name. It was written by Rob ...

'' (Warner Bros.)

Short films/documentaries

* ''Leonard Cohen: Dance Me to the End of Love'' (A-Acme Film Works) * ''The Truce'' (Independent, NYU) * ''Gone into the Clearing'' (Veech Productions) * ''Remember'' (Colassalvision) * ''På danske læber live'' (Auditorium) * ''Susanna'' (Hidden Layers) * ''Rooster'' (Jamison Newlander Productions) * ''Mickey Lee'' (Lawnrunner Films) * ''Crackshot Stu'' (Lawnrunner Films) * ''Clever Grete'' (Tabularassa Productions) * '' Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song'' (Sony)

Television

* ''

Pokémon is a Japanese media franchise consisting of List of Pokémon video games, video games, Pokémon (TV series), animated series and List of Pokémon films, films, Pokémon Trading Card Game, a trading card game, and other related media. The fran ...

'' (TV Series) (Pokémon USA) * ''

Supernova A supernova (: supernovae or supernovas) is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs during the last stellar evolution, evolutionary stages of a massive star, or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion ...

'' (Hallmark Entertainment) * ''Flood: A River's Rampage'' (Hallmark Entertainment) * ''An American Girl on the Home Front'' (American Girl) * ''No Big Deal'' (Cinétudes Films) * ''Shinchan'' (JPS Producties; Shin Ei Animation; TV Asahi)

Self

* '' Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love'' (Sundance) * ''Leonard Cohen: Under Review 1934–1977'' (Chrome Dreams Media) * ''Hallelujah: It Goes Like This'' (Geller/Goldfine Productions) * ''Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song'' (Sony)

Notes

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lissauer, John Living people People from Hauppauge, New York Juilliard School alumni Yale University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Musicians from Summit, New Jersey Musicians from New York (state)