Jonathan Crossley
Jonathan Crossley is an internationally acclaimed guitarist, composer, and sonic innovator based in Liverpool, UK and South Africa. With a background that spans classical guitar, jazz improvisation, and electronic music, he has built a reputation as one of the most forward-thinking voices in experimental and modern guitar performance.
Over the past two decades, Jonathan has performed extensively across Europe, Africa, and the US, collaborating with leading improvisers and contemporary musicians. His credits include works with Lukas Ligeti, David Kollar, Carlo Mombelli, Jonno Sweetman, Kathleen Tagg, and other experimental electronic ensembles, along with performances at major festivals, galleries, and universities. His exploratory style blends traditional guitar techniques with advanced signal processing and real-time interaction.
Jonathan is perhaps best known for his groundbreaking Cyber-Guitar project—an augmented guitar system equipped with an exoskeleton housing tracking sensors and custom electronics. This setup enabled deep real-time manipulation of sound, pushing the boundaries of what a guitar could express.
In 2022, Jonathan began performing with the MIDI Pro guitar, integrating it into his live rig as a powerful tool for sound design and extended performance. The guitar’s polyphonic MIDI output and intuitive control interface perfectly complement his improvisational style, allowing him to blend synthesis and guitar performance seamlessly on stage, using the guitar to control complex Ableton and MAX4Live environments. This has allowed the creation of new recordings that facilitate nimble group responsiveness during collective improvisation, levels he asserts were not possible before the embracing the MIDI Pro guitar.
Jonathan Crossley’s performance of In the Spring is a reimagined live rendition of his favourite solo section from the Inhale album. Originally recorded using the MIDI Pro 2 guitar, every synth element on the album was performed entirely with the guitar — no keyboards were used. In this Liverpool session, Jonathan pushes the boundaries of expression, triggering audio fragments live and blending real-time performance with rich, studio-level sound design.
A respected academic, Jonathan holds a PhD in music and lectures in music technology at the University of Liverpool. There he leads course in digitally enabled improvisation and hyper-instrument systems. His work bridges performance, research, and innovation, consistently exploring new ways to expand the vocabulary of the modern guitarist.
For more information and updates on Jonathan’s music, performances, and academic work, you can visit his Bandcamp page and official website.