Garden Route (from my Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1) is a musical journey through my experiences driving the scenic stretch between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town known as the Garden Route, or R101. Along the way, the road winds through mountains and ancient forests, crosses high bridges over river mouths, and passes through the vivid, bustling life of townships — with cattle crossing the road at every turn.
Agape from "If Beale Street Could Talk"
Composed by Nicolas Brittel
Credits: piano, cello, arranging, engineering, mixing, & mastering
Zulu The Atomic from "Civilization VI" video game
Composed by Geoff Knorr
Credits: vocal arranging & vocal recording production
Caleb Vaughn-Jones is a Los Angeles-based composer, cellist, and producer whose work lives at the intersection of intimate storytelling and cinematic scale. Trained at the Peabody Institute of Music, he has spent more than a decade inside some of the most celebrated recording sessions in film, television, and music — bringing a performer's instinct and a composer's ear to everything he touches.
As a composer, Caleb's debut album Two Worlds Called Home (Ravello Records) showcases his original works for cello and piano, drawn from nine years living and making music in South Africa. The album reflects a voice that is deeply personal, globally shaped, and unmistakably his own.
His credits as a session cellist span some of the most iconic projects of recent years — Avatar: Fire and Ash, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Encanto, Inside Out 2, Sinners, and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew among them. On the album side, he has recorded alongside Kendrick Lamar (GNX), John Legend (Legend, My Favorite Dream), Miley Cyrus (Something Beautiful), Barbra Streisand and Paul McCartney (My Valentine), and Meghan Trainor (Gifts For Me). He has performed and produced instrumental and vocal recordings for the Civilization video game franchise, including Civilization V, VI, and VI: Rise and Fall.
Caleb performed at the 94th Academy Awards alongside Beyoncé and at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards with John Legend — stages that speak not just to his technical excellence, but to the trust the industry places in him at its highest moments. His cello solos are also featured in Netflix's documentary Sean Combs: The Reckoning.
Now, Caleb is stepping fully into the composer's chair — bringing the sonic language he has spent a lifetime developing as a performer into original scores for film and television. He is actively collaborating with short film directors, offering a rare combination: a world-class performer who can write, produce, and perform an original score from the ground up. His sound is warm, string-driven, and narrative at its core — the voice of someone who has always been listening to the story beneath the music.
I work closely with directors to create original scores that serve the story — from intimate cello-driven pieces to fuller orchestral textures.
Whether you're in pre-production or already in the edit, let's find a time to talk.
Fill out the form below or email info@calebvaughnjones.com