Jonny Greenwood

Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood (born 5 November 1971) is an English musician and composer best known as the lead guitarist and keyboardist of the alternative rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, Greenwood also plays instruments including the bass guitar, piano, viola, and drums, and is a prominent player of the ondes Martenot, an early electronic instrument. He works with electronic techniques such as programming, sampling and looping, and writes music software used by Radiohead. He described his role in the band as an arranger, helping to transform singer Thom Yorke's demos into full songs. He has been named one of the greatest guitarists of all time by publications including the NME, Rolling Stone and Spin. Greenwood was born in Oxford, England. As a boy he played in youth orchestras, and he is the only Radiohead member to have studied music theory. Along with his older brother, Radiohead bassist Colin, he attended Abingdon School, where he met the other members of Radiohead. The youngest of the group, Greenwood was the last to join, playing first keyboards and harmonica but soon becoming lead guitarist. He abandoned a degree in music when Radiohead signed to Parlophone; their debut single "Creep" was distinguished by Greenwood's aggressive guitar work, and Radiohead have gone on to achieve critical acclaim and sales of over 30 million albums. Subsequent Radiohead albums have featured Greenwood's string and brass arrangements, and he has since composed for orchestras including the London Contemporary Orchestra and the BBC Concert Orchestra. He released his first solo work, the soundtrack for the film Bodysong, in 2003, and has since scored the films There Will Be Blood (2007), Norwegian Wood (2010), We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011), The Master (2012) and Inherent Vice (2014), working with director Paul Thomas Anderson on several occasions. He has collaborated with musicians including Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur, singer Bryan Ferry, rapper MF Doom, and R&B artist Frank Ocean.