Jay Bennett was a significant force behind the evolving sound, increasingly mature songwriting, and success of the twice Grammy-nominated Wilco for 7 years. Jay made his studio debut with Wilco on 1996's Being There, and stayed through the final sessions of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Bennett also contributed heavily to Mermaid Avenue, Volume I and Volume 2 - a joint project with British songwriter Billy Bragg - which brought previously unreleased Woody Guthrie lyrics to light and to life. Since leaving Wilco, Jay teamed up with his long-time friend and musical collaborator, Edward Burch, to release 2002's critically-acclaimed The Palace at 4 a.m. (Part 1). Edward and Jay had worked together in one capacity or another for about seven years, with Jay first becoming acquainted with Edward in Illinois. At the time, Jay belonged to the bands Steve Pride & His Blood Kin and Titanic Love Affair. Jay followed up this collaborative effort with two solo records, Beloved Enemy and Bigger than Blue in 2004.
In addition to his well-regarded Wilco and solo work, Jay is also a highly skilled and respected producer and sought after session musician. He has contributed his intstrumental or production talents to a long list of artists that includes Garrison Starr, Adam Schmitt, Billy Joe Shaver, Allison Moorer, Jellyfish, Sherry Rich, Tim Easton, Tommy Keene, Jeff Black, and Sheryl Crow.
One of his latest production efforts was Blues Traveler's Bastardos!, released in September of 2005 on Vanguard, a project which caused the songwriting flood gates to open. Jay went on a creative tear, writing and recording over 70 songs, and the good folks at Rykodisc released the album titled The Magnificent Defeat which captured this output on September 26th, 2006.
