Jason Michael Webb

Special Tony Award recipient and Drama Desk winner, Jason Michael Webb is a director, composer, lyricist, musical director, producer and arranger. From conducting orchestras in Broadway pits to writing and arranging music for a President’s inauguration, Jason has dedicated his life to using music to heal, uplift and encourage. Mr. Webb’s early musical training consisted of formal classical study, playing in small churches and obsessing about pop music. By 21, he had a degree in classical piano, played in the biggest churches in New York City and made his orchestral solo debut with the Queens Symphony. He then went on to become Musical Director of the six-time Grammy Award-winning Brooklyn Tabernacle, for whom Mr. Webb co-wrote and produced four albums for The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, leading to two Stellar Award nominations and a Dove Award win. His arrangement of BTC’s “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” was featured at the 2013 inauguration of President Barack Obama and simultaneously heard by over one billion people worldwide. Mr. Webb is the composer for “The Ms. Pat Show” (BET+) (also produced its theme song, “Grown Ass Woman”) and wrote music/lyrics for Kenny Leon’s production of Much Ado About Nothing, which was filmed for PBS’ “Great Performances” series (Shakespeare in the Park, The Public Theater) (Music Supervisor/Incidental Music). His writing can also be heard on the hit TV series “Empire” (Fox), Netflix film “Juanita” (starring Alfre Woodard), recording projects and original musicals, including the new South African musical “WiLDFLOWER” (currently in development with National Black Theater/Apollo Theater). Mr. Webb received a 2019 Special Tony Award for “outstanding arrangements” in Tarell Alvin McCraney’s breathtaking acapella play Choir Boy (MTC). His work on Choir Boy also earned him a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Original Music. He is also currently nominated for a 2020 Tony Award for “Best Original Score Written for the Theatre” for Tennessee Williams’ The Rose Tattoo (Roundabout). Joining forces with pop music icons Stephen Bray and Harvey Mason, Jr., Mr. Webb served as Executive Music Producer of Respect (MGM), the highly-anticipated 2021 film about the life of Aretha Franklin (starring Jennifer Hudson). Mr. Webb’s directorial debut, a 2021 film of the iconic Jason Robert Brown musical, The Last Five Years, was lauded by The New York Times as “inspiring”, “robust”, and “impressively freed by its physical and creative limitations.” He also served as Musical Director of the gorgeous Tony, Emmy and Grammy-winning 2016 Broadway Revival of The Color Purple, directed by John Doyle and based on the timeless novel by Alice Walker. Upcoming projects include Disney’s upcoming revival of AIDA (Music Supervisor/Arranger), and the eagerly anticipated “Beauty and the Beast” live-action prequel series at Disney+ (Musical Director/Arranger). Other credits include Associate Production Music Supervisor for The Greatest Showman (20th Century Fox); Musical Director and Arranger/Adaptor for Disney’s Frozen: Live at the Hyperion (Anaheim, CA); and Associate Musical Director of Broadway shows including Berry Gordy’s Motown: The Musical, Alan Menken’s Leap of Faith and Jeanine Tesori’s Violet (also Additional Arrangements). Mr. Webb is currently the featured vocalist on the national jingle for Smile Direct Club, and has appeared as a Pianist onstage with Dame Shirley Bassey, Michael Bolton, Cece Winans, and Chaka Khan. He has conducted live and recording orchestras from New York to LA, including internationally acclaimed pianist Lang Lang’s 2016 love letter to NYC, “New York Rhapsody” (PBS), which featured performances by Rufus Wainwright, Regina Spektor and Suzanne Vega. He most recently supplied orchestrations for MJ the Musical.