Joel Forrester

Who is Joel Forrester?

Joel Forrester, American jazz composer and pianist. He is notable for having composed the theme song to NPR's Fresh Air.

Forrester was born on May 2, 1946 and was reared in Pittsburgh. He has played jazz piano professionally since age 15; his first composition was entitled “Tiber Rag” and was submitted as a high-school Latin project in 1962.

Forrester was further educated at Ohio University and while there furnished music for the early films of Andy Warhol, a fellow Pittsburgher. He was involved in the Civil Rights Movement, registered voters in Montgomery, Alabama, in spring of 1965 and was a draft resister during the Vietnam War, serving several months in prison in 1970/71.

Joel and the former Mary Harrison, a dancer, married in 1970; they have had one child, Max. In 1973, following several years on Federal parole, Forrester moved to New York City where he has lived and worked ever since. In the late 1970s, Joel was introduced to Thelonious Monk by a friend, Baroness Pannonica deKoenigswarter. He received Monk’s personal encouragement - Monk told Forrester "You can play!" and advised him to concentrate on making new compositions.