Jay started his musical career on the saxophone in grammar school. He began arranging horn sections for local R&B groups and gigging while in high school. Heading off to college and on the doorstep of grunge, the guitar seemed much cooler. He played many a three-chord masterpiece in different local bands through college. As he came to age, musically, the market was flush with guitarists. Like most other bass players, he was assigned the low end because there were too many guys playing 6-strings. He played on and off through the late 1990’s with many different Chicago-based bands. In 2001, he joined SMITTYVISION and had a great 8 year run with a very talented group of musicians. SMITTYVISION was a fixture in the Wrigleyville, Lincoln Park & North-Side music scene, playing blues, country, reggae and rock. When life got in the way of living, Smitty and the guys went off to be adults in 2008. Since then, Jay has sat in as a bass player and guitarist in different local groups as needed including DRP, The Gombas Experience and Dean’s List.
