Jay Oliver | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Jay Russell Oliver |
Born | St Louis, Missouri, United States | April 26, 1959
Genres | Jazz, jazz fusion, rock, blues, ambient, world music |
Occupation(s) | Composer, songwriter, record producer, musician, engineer, programmer |
Instrument(s) | Piano, synthesizers |
Years active | 1975–present |
Website | Official website |
Jay Russell Oliver (born April 26, 1959) is an American jazz musician (piano, keyboards and synths), composer, record producer, programmer and engineer. He began his professional music career at the age of 19 as the youngest member of Maynard Ferguson's band. His later credits include: Sheryl Crow, The Eagles, Jimmy Buffett, Wynonna Judd, Glenn Frey, Peabo Bryson, Chick Corea, Dave Weckl, Russ Kunkel, Jay Graydon, AO Music, Celine Dion and many others. [1]
Oliver resides in Los Angeles, where he has worked extensively in music composition and production, ranging from jazz fusion and world music to soundtracks to session work of all kinds.
At the beginning of 2011, after many years of research and field test studies involving the use of sound from a clinical perspective, Oliver founded a company called SmartWav. The company specializes in the use of proprietary tonal, pitch and rhythm mapping technologies that specifically aid infants in areas of brain development and issues of post-womb insomnia. [2] [3] [4]
Oliver and Dave Weckl grew up together in St. Louis where they explored a prolific jazz fusion style. A few years later in Los Angeles, after partnering on Weckl's first three solo releases, they formed The Dave Weckl Band, co-producing two albums.
Oliver was a top local producer [ citation needed ] in his St. Louis studio when first introduced to a young Sheryl Crow, who at the time was a school teacher and aspiring singer. Oliver eventually began using Crow in recording sessions and featured her in several jingles. She and Oliver moved to Los Angeles within a few years of each other and began co-writing songs that eventually landed Crow a publishing contract and recording deal with A&M Records. Some of those songs were recorded by Celine Dion, Wynonna Judd and others. [5]
In the nineties Oliver was hired as Glenn Frey's keyboardist, co-producer and co-writer. Oliver also has production credit with Elliot Scheiner for the Eagles album Hell Freezes Over as well as their live album New Millennium.
In the late 1980s, Oliver was asked by producer Elliot Scheiner to begin co-writing songs with Jimmy Buffett. He co-wrote the Buffett albums Off to See the Lizard and Barometer Soup , then briefly toured as member of his Coral Reefer Band.
In 1996, Oliver began co-producing with Richard Gannaway, the pan-cultural project AO Music, resulting in journeys to Indonesia, Ireland, the People's Republic of Georgia, South Africa, India, Nepal and a special invitation to China, where they were asked by the Beijing Olympic Committee to compose theme music for the 2008 Summer Olympics. [6] [7] AO Music album releases have won prestigious international awards and held strong chart position since 2000 (Zone Music Reporter). [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]
Hell Freezes Over is the second live album by the Eagles, released in 1994. The album is the first to be released after the Eagles had reformed following a fourteen-year break up. The band's lineup was that of the Long Run era: Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Don Felder, Joe Walsh, and Timothy B. Schmit. It contains four new studio tracks and eleven tracks recorded live in April 1994 for an MTV special. Two Top 40 Mainstream singles, "Get Over It" and "Love Will Keep Us Alive", were released from the album. It also features an acoustic version of "Hotel California". The four new studio recordings are the last to feature Don Felder, who was fired from the band in 2001.
The Allnighter is the second solo studio album by Glenn Frey, the guitarist and co-lead vocalist for the Eagles. The album was released in mid-1984 on MCA in the United States and the United Kingdom, two years after Frey's modestly successful debut album No Fun Aloud and four years after the demise of the Eagles. It was and still is Frey's most successful solo album throughout his whole solo career, having reached No. 22 on the Billboard charts, and releasing two top 20 singles with "Smuggler's Blues" and "Sexy Girl". The album achieved gold status by the RIAA in the US. It is generally regarded as the culmination of the smoother, more adult-oriented sound of Frey's solo work.
Wildflower is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, first released September 27, 2005. Although the album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, it received mixed reviews and was not as commercially successful as previous albums, having also peaked at No. 25 on the UK Album Chart.
Miriam Arlene Stockley is a British singer. She was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and her work is influenced by the African music of her home country. Her distinctive vocalise style gained international acclaim when Karl Jenkins launched the Adiemus project with Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary, with Stockley as the lead singer.
Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles is a tribute album to American rock band Eagles. It was released in 1993 on Giant Records to raise funds for the Walden Woods Project. The album features covers of various Eagles songs, as performed by country music acts. It was certified 3× Platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on June 27, 1994, honoring shipments of three million copies in the United States. Several cuts from the album all charted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts after the album's release, the most successful being Travis Tritt's rendition of "Take It Easy" at number 21. Common Thread won all of its performers a Country Music Association Award for Album of the Year at the 1994 ceremony.
Eye of the Beholder is a 1988 album by the Chick Corea Elektric Band. It features Chick Corea with guitarist Frank Gambale, saxophonist Eric Marienthal, drummer Dave Weckl and bassist John Patitucci.
Light Years is an album by the Chick Corea Elektric Band. It features Chick Corea with guitarist Frank Gambale, saxophonist Eric Marienthal, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Dave Weckl. The album received the 1988 Grammy Award for the Best R&B Instrumental Performance.
Simple Man is the second album by German countertenor Klaus Nomi, released on 23 November 1982 by RCA. It was also the last album of original material to be released during Nomi's lifetime.
Friends Can Be Lovers is the twenty-ninth studio album by American singer Dionne Warwick. Her tenth album for Arista Records, it was released on January 20, 1993, in the United States. Warwick garthered material from songwriters and producers such as Barry J. Eastmond, Harvey Mason, Siedah Garrett, Dianne Warren, and Blue Zone lead singer Lisa Stansfield. The album, which Warwick described as "a labor love" and true "family affair," also saw her collaborating with her son David Elliot and cousin Whitney Houston for the first time as well as reuniting with former contributors Burt Bacharach and Hal David on the song "Sunny Weather Love" after more than two decades.
Change is Now: Renewing America's Promise is a compilation album released on April 28, 2009 through Hidden Beach Recordings in conjunction with the Presidential Inaugural Committee. The album includes previously released tracks from Wilco, Stevie Wonder, Death Cab for Cutie, and Common. An accompanying DVD features eight speeches by Barack Obama, starting with the campaign announcement in Springfield, Illinois and ending with the election night victory speech in Chicago. The album sold retail online and at inaugural events in Washington.
Earth Run is the fifteenth studio album by jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour, released in April 1986 through GRP Records. The album reached number ten on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart in the United States and received a Grammy Award nomination for Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal or Instrumental. The title track was also nominated for Best Instrumental Composition.
I'm Movin' On is the third studio album recorded by American singer CeCe Peniston, released on September 9, 1996, by A&M Records. Taking Peniston's work deeper foray into mainstream R&B genre, A&M consulted a number of pop musicians to record with her, including Dave Hall, Gordon Chambers, and Andrea Martin. Other collaborated include DJ Steve "Silk" Hurley, Damon Thomas, Danny Sembello, Darryl Pearson, and Jorge "G-Man" Corante.
The Chick Corea Songbook is the twenty-second studio album released by The Manhattan Transfer on September 29, 2009. The album features The Manhattan Transfer's interpretations of several Chick Corea compositions, including a song written by Corea for this album. The executive producer was Yusuf Gandhi. It was the final album with Tim Hauser, who died in between the release of this album and their subsequent album.
20/20 is a studio album by George Benson, released on the Warner Bros. record label in 1985. The lead single by the same name reached #48 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA. "You Are the Love of My Life" is a duet with Roberta Flack. It was one of a number of songs used for Eden Capwell and Cruz Castillo on the American soap opera Santa Barbara. Also included on 20/20 is the original version of the song "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You" which would later become a smash hit for Hawaiian singer Glenn Medeiros.
The Chick Corea Elektric Band is an album by jazz and fusion keyboard player Chick Corea, released in 1986. It is the eponymous debut album of the Chick Corea Elektric Band, which at that time also featured drummer Dave Weckl, bass player John Patitucci and guitarists Scott Henderson and Carlos Rios.
John Philip Shenale is a Canadian composer, arranger, musician and producer based in Los Angeles.
Inside Out is an album by the Chick Corea Elektric Band, released in 1990 through the record label GRP. The album peaked at number six on Billboard's Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart.
Beneath the Mask is an album by Chick Corea Elektric Band, released in 1991 through the record label GRP. The album peaked at number two on Billboard's Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart.
Lucky Man is the second studio album by saxophonist Dave Koz. It was released by Capitol Records on June 29, 1993 in NYC, followed by a nationwide release in November 1993 and international release in May 1994. The album peaked at number 2 on Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. The album has sold over 500,000 copies in the United States and has thus been certified gold by the RIAA.
Soulful Strut is a studio album by American saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. The album was released in 1996 on Columbia Records label.