As a film composer, Burwell has had a long working relationship with the Coen brothers, providing music for every film they have made. He enjoys working with left-field directors and has also scored Spike Jonze's films. Among his best known non–Coen Brothers film scores are And the Band Played On (1993), Conspiracy Theory (1997), Hamlet (2000), The Spanish Prisoner (1997), and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007).
Burwell married Christine Sciulli in 1999.
Burwell once played in a band named Thick Pigeon with Stanton Miranda. The group only released two albums, Too Crazy Cowboys and Miranda Dali. On Burwell's soundtrack for Psycho III, Miranda was a featured singer.
