Jay Chattaway (born July 8, 1946) is an American composer of film and television scores. He is mainly known for his work as score composer for several Star Trek television series: Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise. The simple flute melody he composed for the TNG episode "The Inner Light" has been re-arranged for full orchestra and remains his best known singular work.
Chattaway was born in Monongahela, Pennsylvania and studied music at West Virginia University. He was initiated into the Omicron Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi at West Virginia University on December 6, 1965, and is currently an alumni brother of the fraternity. He is also a proud alumni brother of Phi Mu Alpha, another music fraternity.
At WVU Jay was also a member of the Mountaineer marching band and Lambda Chi Alpha social fraternity. He and some other young men from the music school formed a rock band called the Abductors in which he played trumpet. Like most college bands at the time they mostly played covers of Top-40 songs. With a black lead singer and a strong horn section, the Abductors specialized in the works of such artists as James Brown and Wilson Pickett.
While a resident of the fraternity house, Jay would spend hours at the piano there working out his arrangements for the group's performances. With such input from him and the talent level of the other band members, The Abductors became one of the most popular and well-thought of bands playing parties and night clubs in the Morgantown area.
He was conscripted into the military while working on his graduate degree and joined the Navy Band, serving as the unit's chief arranger and composer. After his discharge from the Navy, Chattaway moved to New York City to write music. He later moved to Los Angeles to compose for film.
Like his counterparts Brian May and Robert O. Ragland, Chattaway's film scores include music for cult films such as Maniac, Vigilante, The Last Fight, The Big Score, Walking the Edge, The Rosebud Beach Hotel, Missing in Action, Home Free All, Invasion U.S.A., Silver Bullet, Braddock: Missing in Action III, Maniac Cop, Jakarta, Red Scorpion, Relentless, Maniac Cop 2, The Ambulance, and Rich Girl.