Jon Cobert was born in Brooklyn, NY, studied piano and theory with Ted Harris and received a degree in music theory and composition from NYU. Jon plays the piano, organ, accordion, synthesizer, guitar, bass and drums. He also sings lead and backup vocals.
Jon grew up listening to The Beatles, The Stones, Motown, The Doors, The Moody Blues, Procol Harum, Cream and Jimi Hendrix while at the same time studying Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Bartok, and Schoenberg. When he got his first Farfisa Mini-Compact organ at the age of 13, he began playing in bands. When he was 19, his band "Bomf" got signed to a management deal at Record Plant studios in New York, where their friend Jimmy Iovine was working as an assistant engineer. The band had their own room, the Bomf room, where they would rehearse and write new material. The Record Plant is where Jon met John Lennon and began working on several projects with him, including his 'Rock and Roll' album, Walls and Bridges, and several disco recordings which Lennon produced for Lori Burton. He can be seen in the movie "Imagine", and several other John Lennon videos and DVDs. Jon also met several jingle and record producers at the studio and began working as a session musician, playing both the piano and synthesizer.
Today, Jon has a state-of-the-art recording studio where he records his own music, as well as outside projects including Tom Chapin, and the Chapin Sisters. The equipment in this studio includes vintage Gretsch, WFL, and Radio King drums, Hammond M-103 organ and Leslie 147, Pro-tools HD, Mac Pro computer, Yamaha s90 ES, Roland xv-5080, Nord Stage and Electro synths, Supernova, Wavestation, Roland Super Jupiter, Minimoog, Fender Rhodes, Sadowsky bass, Fender and Hamer electric guitars, Martin, Gibson, Danelectro, and Takamine acoustic guitars, and Audio Technica, AKG, Shure, Beyer, and Sennheiser mics. Additionally, Jon endorses Takamine, Hamer, and Martin guitars, and Nord and Casio keyboards.
Jon has recorded and played with John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Dion, Tom Chapin, Harry Chapin, Pete Seeger, Tom Paxton, Edgar Winter, Eric Burdon, Regis and Joy Philbin, Loudon Wainwright III, Dionne Warwick, B.J. Thomas, Steve Tyrell, Terry Cashman, Henry Gross, John Denver, Judy Collins, Vanessa Williams, The Chapin Sisters, Jen Chapin, Billy J. Kramer, Chubby Checker, Lyfe Jennings, Darrell McDaniels (DMC), Linda Eder, Jim Steinman, Leslie Uggams, Klaus Nomi, Al Green, Liel, John Forster, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Red Grammer, Rosenshontz, Gary Rosen, Bill Shontz, Kirsten Thien, Michael Mark, John McCutcheon, Kings Highway, Dave Pettigrew, Adrian Loveridge, Keith Herman, Black Ivory......and he was the musical director and pianist for the sold-out Lead Belly tribute at Carnegie Hall in 2016.
Jon has also toured with Henry Gross who opened for the Doobie Brothers, Foreigner, Charlie Daniels Band and Supertramp (look for Henry's new show, "One Hit Wanderer"). He also toured with Phyllis Hyman, Laura Branigan, Tom Chapin, Klaus Nomi, Jimmy Webb, Sugarbeats, Dave Pettigrew and Kings Highway. In addition to touring and recording, he has written music for both TV and radio including the ESPN Baseball Tonight theme, the ESPN College Football Game Day theme, and jingles for NBC sports, Entresto, Dr. Pepper, Pepperidge Farm, Rolling Rock, Budweiser, Arm and Hammer, Juicy Juice, TD Waterhouse, Showboat Casino, Bank of NY, Canon, Burger King, Wendy's, Capital One and many others. He plays piano every other Thursday at Crabtree's Kittle House in Chappaqua, and several times a month at Polpo and Il Leone in Greenwich, CT.
Jon is also a songwriter and has written many songs, some of which appear on several of Tom Chapin's recordings. Jon has received five Grammy nominations for producing Tom Chapin's family recordings. Also, Jon has appeared on TV with John Lennon on the ABC TV show "A Salute to Sir Lew Grade", with Tom Chapin on the Today Show, CBS Saturday Morning, Saturday Today in New York, Larry King Live, and Live with Regis and Kathie Lee. He has released 2 CDs of original songs, "Here's Your Canoe", and "He Had A Hat", available here, on iTunes, and on CD Baby.