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Ask anyone who has known or worked professionally
with Jay Oliver and they will tell you: this guy is one of the most gifted and
respected composers, producers, and pianists you could ever hope to meet.
A longtime friend and collaborator with Dave
Weckl who helped spearhead Dave's first three solo releases and who also
appeared on the Dave Weckl Band's first two releases ("Rhythm of the Soul" and
"Synergy"), Jay's musical portfolio is extremely diverse and impressive.
At age 19, Jay was already performing with
legendary trumpeter Maynard Ferguson. Later, while running a production studio
in St. Louis, Jay was approached by a young schoolteacher named Sheryl Crow, who
was interested in learning more about music and becoming a singer. Years later,
as best of friends, they wrote and collaborated on many songs together which
ultimately became Crow's first record for A&M Records. Some of the songs Oliver
and Crow had written were recorded by the likes of Celine Dion, Wynonna Judd and
many others.
At heart, Jay has always been a jazz musician,
but his mainstream/pop sensibilities have been well utilized. He spent several
years writing, recording, producing and performing as part of Jimmy Buffett's
Coral Reefer Band, and also wrote, recorded, produced and performed with Glenn
Frey and The Eagles. Jay has also worked with Joe Walsh, Bonnie Raitt, Boz
Skaggs, Keith Thomas, Jay Graydon, Chick Corea, Peter Mayer, and many more.
After leaving the DWB in 1999, Jay became very
interested in exploring various indigenous forms of world music – and put
together a world music project with friend and visionary Ricky Gannaway. The
project is called “AO” and their exploits resulted in journeys to Indonesia,
Ireland, and India. They received a special invitation to China, where they
worked with the exclusive CBC Children’s Choir to create theme music for the
2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing (make sure to play the "AO" promo video in the left column of this page - and turn up the sound!).
In the past few years, Jay has embarked on an
exploratory pilgrimage to a land boasting of perhaps the richest of musical
cultures: India. There, he was introduced to a paradox of freshly new and
traditionally authentic Indian music styles; so profound that one could say
Jay's his life has changed both musically and spiritually. In India, Jay worked
with Sandeep Chowta - one of India's most popular and prolific composers, who
served as both ambassador and mentor to the cutting-edge Indian scene as well as
it’s deep and powerful musical roots.
Currently, Jay is working on a record with Russ
Kunkel, a highly-respected session drummer who is best-known for his work with
James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Lyle Lovett, and many others. Russ
is one of the most recorded drummers in history, appearing on a countless number
of hit records.
In 2007, Jay will be recording a solo piano CD.
This CD will reflect Jay's commitment over the past three years to return to his
piano roots.
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