Jonathan Sanford is a Los Angeles-based composer, music producer, and saxophonist scoring music for films, television, and stage. He is known for bringing unique sounds and unexpected ideas through an analog exploration process.
Sanford scored the drama feature National Champions for STX Entertainment directed by Ric Waugh and starring J.K. Simmons, Stephan James, and Uzo Aduba. His other work includes the Amazon series As We See It from executive producer Jason Katims, the Universal / Netflix comedy feature Good On Paper starring Iliza Schlesinger and Margaret Cho and directed by Kimmy Gatewood, the Universal series Killing It starring and executive produced by Craig Robinson, the Netflix series Teenage Bounty Hunters from Tilted Productions (GLOW, Orange Is The New Black, Weeds), and the documentary Hold Your Fire which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. He is also the composer of USA’s noir television drama Dare Me, based on the novel by Megan Abbott. Most recently Jonathan scored the action romance feature Perfect Addiction for Constantin Film, the Apple drama series Dear Edward, and the comedy feature Step Aside.
Sanford’s other previous work includes the Netflix series Social Distance, the drama romance feature On Our Way, the comedy drama feature Welcome Matt, That Moment When for PBSNews Hour/Facebook Watch, original songs for YouTube’s Weird City, score for the EKO interactive series Timeline, and Off-Broadway stage play Tomorrow In The Battle (Stripped Scripts). Sanford has also scored documentaries for Syracuse professor Richard Breyer, tracks for Run and Jump directed by Oscar-nominated Steph Green, and the first scripted podcast from Shonda Rhimes in partnership with iHeartMedia called #Matter.
Sanford was born in Baltimore, Maryland, studying piano and violin before deciding on the saxophone at age nine. Jonathan went on to study classical saxophone, under the tutelage of Dr. Frederick Hemke at Northwestern University, where he was also a member of the 1996 Big Ten Championship Football Team. As a saxophonist and vocalist, Jonathan has shared the stage with legendary artists including Max Roach, Eddie Palmieri, Danilo Perez, and Bobby McFerrin.