Steve Jay
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| Steve Jay | |
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 Steve Jay.
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| Born | January 26, 1951 Florida |
Stephen "Steve" Jay (born January 26, 1951) is a bassist best known for working with the singer-songwriter "Weird Al" Yankovic.
Jay was born in Florida. He auditioned for Yankovic after answering an ad in the newspaper, and the two have worked together ever since. Jay can be heard or seen on all of Yankovic's albums, videos, and concerts.
He is also the founder of the of the ethno-funk duo, Ak & Zuie, with Pete Gallagher. He has scored more than fifty nationally broadcast PBS specials and series episodes, including three George Foster Peabody Award winners, and contributed to several feature films. He's also done extensive session work, released eight solo records on his own Ayarou label, and produced two albums for the WEA Nonesuch Explorer series.
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[edit] Biography
Jay's background includes a BA and MM Graduate Fellowship in composition from the University of South Florida in 1972. After completing his studies, he went to Niger and spent two and half years studying drumming. Selections from his archival field recordings of traditional West African ceremonies, dances, and solo performances were made into three highly acclaimed albums released by Warner/Nonesuch. Weakened by malaria and intestinal parasites, he eventually had to return to the United States.
He relocated to Los Angeles, auditioned for a spot in Frank Zappa's band, and eventually hooked up with Yankovic. He continues to travel, studying folk music and collecting wind, string, and percussion instruments from Asia and the South Pacific.
[edit] Trivia
- Jay originally came to Los Angeles to audition for Frank Zappa, in which he was given a complex piece to sight read. After that failed audition, he auditioned for "Weird Al" Yankovic and has been playing with him ever since.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Nonesuch Explorer Series
- Africa: Drum, Chant, and Instrumental Music
- Ghana: Ancient Ceremonies, Songs, and Dance Music
- Dances of the World
[edit] With Weird Al
- "Weird Al" Yankovic
- "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D
- Dare to Be Stupid
- Polka Party!
- Even Worse
- UHF - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff
- Off the Deep End
- Alapalooza
- Bad Hair Day
- Running with Scissors
- Poodle Hat
- Straight Outta Lynwood
[edit] Solo Albums
- Sea Never Dry
- Film Music - a collection of 66 short excerpts from his original film and television scores
- Tangled Strings -- prior to Tangled Strings, a cassette only release called Whatever It Is was made available, containing many of the same songs which were later released on Tangled Strings. When Tangled Strings was released, Whatever It Is was retired.
- Self Avoiding Random Walk
- Outer Voice
- Rounder Gaze
- Friction
- Plus
[edit] With Ak & Zuie
- Non-Franciscan Duets
[edit] Compilations
- Deep Forest
- Late In The 20th Century: An Elektra/Nonesuch New Music Sampler
[edit] External links
- http://www.stephenjay.com/
- http://www.myspace.com/ayarou
- http://www.akandzuie.com/
- http://www.weirdal.com/
- Steve Jay, What a guy! - fan site
- Stephen Jay entry on Dean Guitars website
- Uncharted Territory from Global Bass Magazine, December 2001
- The theory of Harmonic Rhythm from Bass Inside Magazine, August 2002
- Stephen Jay: Music and other Miracles from Bass Inside Magazine, September 2002
- Stephen Jay: When Reality Just Isn't Enough! from Bass Inside Magazine, May 2003
- Stephen Jay, Bass Player for Weird Al Yankovic, On Playing Live Through Mackie SR1530s from Bass Player Magazine, May 11, 2005
