Jason Gay
"Key Leaves dramatically extend the lifespan of a saxophone! My horn repair costs have literally been cut less than half thanks to Key Leaves. No more sticky, gunky C sharps, E flats, or G sharps!" - Jason Gay (Blues Saxophonist, Bandleader, Teacher)
Jason Gay is a saxophonist, bandleader, teacher and clinician who lives in Honolulu, Hawaii. Originally from Washington DC, Jason Gay began performing professionally at age 16 touring various major cities with the musical and theatrical youth group “Uprising” operating as leader of its jazz component. He then moved to Boston where he attended Berklee College of Music and studied with Joe Viola, Tomo Fujita, and George Garzone. During this time, Jason went on to win first place in the NAACP competition for “Best Instrumentalist” also placing first in the Joe Kennedy Jr. competition. Later, Jason served eight years as a Unit Leader, saxophonist and Clinician in the US Navy band where he offered workshops and led musical groups across America as well as in Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines, Hawaii and Guam. Jason Gay has collaborated and performed with Mos Def, Medeski Martin and Wood, Ravi Coltrane, Mulgrew Miller, Steve Lacy, Jeremy Pelt, drummer John Blackwell and The Temptations.
After leaving the Navy, Jason took a three-year deep dive into the study of traditional Chinese folk songs, transcribing, listening, and reinterpreting the melodies. This study led to his first self produced album “Jason Gay Dynasty” released in 2017, which is available on all streaming platforms. Jason Gay is based in Honolulu, Hawaii and is a highly sought after saxophonist performing with a wide variety of groups on Oahu, Maui and neighboring islands. For the past several years, he has been exploring the relationships between blues guitar concepts and how they relate to the saxophone.
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