A gifted musician from an early age, Jonathan R. Crosse earned 14 superior ratings in district and state music contests during his high school years. This musical interest and skill formed the foundation of a career in music that has continued for over thirty years.

Crosse graduated with the Fairborn High School Class of 1964. He was a member of the high school musical productions, a cappella choir, and the National Honor Society. He also served as president, student director, and librarian of the high school band. He was a three-year president of the Presbyterian Youth Fellowship and performed with the National Cash Register Summer Band and the Westminster Choir.

Crosse attended The Ohio State University, graduating cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in music education in 1968. He was a member of the OSU concert band and the OSU jazz workshop for four years and the OSU symphony orchestra for two years. He studied advanced jazz theory and composition at Westminster College, Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1974 and received a master of music degree cum laude in saxophone performance from California State University, Northridge, in 1995.

His teaching career, which has emphasized jazz education, began in the Columbus City Schools, Ohio. In California, he has taught in the Ventura County Public Schools, the Ojai Valley Schools, and the Oak Grove Schools and has been a clinician and instructor in jazz improvisation and studies at UCLA, Rio Hondo College in Whittier, Grove School of Music in Studio City, and California State University. He has been a saxophone instructor at Sonoma State and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and an instructor and clinician at Westminster College in Salt Lake City. He also was a clinician at the International Music Seminars at Montpelier/Antibes, France.

As a soloist, composer, arranger, producer, and director, Crosse has been involved in musical events for movies, television, and recordings. His original compositions include “Pompeii”, “Variaciones”, “Soulmates”, “Coyoacan”, and “Julian” from the albums Leading Off, Dos Mundos, Aztlan, and Street Corner. His 2001 discography includes: The Gift, Kim Collins; Harsh Canvas, David Iwataki, and Todo Sacbe.

He received the American Library Association award, “Notable Children’s Recordings”, for producing two recordings, Peter and the Wolf Play Jazz narrated by LeVar Burton and Lullabies Go Jazz, which introduce jazz to children.

Crosse has performed in both jazz and popular music genres throughout his career. He has performed and recorded with many jazz greats and popular singers including Alan Broadbent, Benny Carter, Natalie Cole, Luis Conte, Clare Fischer, Freddie Hubbard, Johnny Mathis, Carmen McRae, Wayne Shorter, Mel Torme, and The Captain and Tennille. For the past 19 years, he has been soloist and arranger for Paul Anka’s band, serving as musical director for the past nine years.

In his association with Paul Anka’s band, Crosse has had the honor of conducting the National, Atlanta, Baltimore, New Jersey, and Pacific Symphony Orchestras and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.

He has had numerous performance experiences in film and television with instrumental performances in Meet Wally Sparks, BarbWire, Larry King Weekend on CNN, Shell Game, and I'll Do Anything and has conducted the Concert of the Americas on PBS. He has played the saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, flugelhorn, and trombone and has contributed arrangements for more than 100 broadcasts of The Toni Tennille Show as well as collaborating as a composer, arranger, and conductor for many record labels and artists.

Crosse is currently musical director and sax and woodwind soloist for Paul Anka, woodwinds and brass instructor for the Ojai Valley Schools, clinician and artist-in-the-classroom for the Ventura County Schools, and, as president of Jazz Cat Productions, he produces jazz recordings for children.

When not on tour with Paul Anka, Crosse resides in Oak View, California, with his wife Anne and his daughter Cassandra.