French composer. Born to a father who was a poet and journalist, and a mother who was a translator. His father was also the founder of the magazine Transition, and Jolas was in an environment where he could meet figures like Joyce, Hemingway, Matisse, and Varèse from an early age. In his mid-teens, he moved to New York with his family and studied at Lycée Français and Bennington College. At Bennington College, he studied music theory, organ, and piano. His participation in the Dessoff Choirs as a singer and accompanist during this period provided him with an introduction to Renaissance music. After returning to France, he continued to study fugue, musical analysis, and composition. He studied musical analysis with Messiaen and composition with Milhaud. He based his activities at the French Broadcasting Corporation (ORTF), and later, after serving as Messiaen's assistant at the Conservatoire de Paris, he was promoted to professor.

Many of Jolas's works are the result of his exploration of vocal writing. A collection of his lectures, Voix et musique (published in the Bulletin de la Société française de philosophie), has also been published.

He has also received numerous awards, including:

• First prize (non-finalist) at the Besançon Competition for Young Conductors
• Copley Foundation Award (Chicago)
• French Broadcasting Corporation Award for Francophone Composers
• American Academy of Arts and Letters Award