Jay Ashby is a four-time GRAMMY winning producer and has received multiple nominations in other categories, including Arranging and Engineering. A “consummate musician” whose talents “know few bounds” (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review), Ashby has performed, toured, and recorded with some of the most renowned jazz artists in the industry for over 30 years. As a member of The United Nation Orchestra, under the direction of Paquito D’Rivera, and the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Star Big Band, Ashby forged long lasting musical relationships with jazz greats including Jon Faddis, Monty Alexander, James Moody, Jimmy Heath, Randy Brecker, and Slide Hampton, among many others. Through his association with trumpet master Claudio Roditi, Ashby developed a strong affinity for Brazilian Jazz, which led to many years as a soloist with Astrud Gilberto, as well as arrangements, tours, performances and recordings with numerous Brazilian artists including Tania Maria, Kenia, Ivan Lins, Trio Da Paz, and the fathers of Bossa Nova Joao Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim.
Ashby can be heard as both a trombonist and a percussionist on over 175 recordings covering a continuum of styles from jazz and pop to world music. Ashby’s last release, Mistaken Identity (CD Baby, 2011), with fellow trombonist Steve Davis, received critical acclaim within the jazz industry, remaining on the national air-play list for an unprecedented 16 weeks, reaching as high as #2. As an arranger, among numerous others, notable recordings include Live in Paris with Paul Simon, Beyond Brooklyn with Herbie Mann and Phil Woods, A Day Like This with New York Voices, and both of Nancy Wilson’s GRAMMY winning albums, Turned to Blue and R.S.V.P.
His versatility as a pop trombonist, percussionist, and arranger began in 1999 with pop icon Paul Simon, with whom Ashby toured and performed extensively both on the stage and on television. Appearances with Simon include the Today Show, Saturday Night Live, The Late Show with David Letterman, in addition to performing alongside James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, and a host of other artists honoring Paul Simon at the 2007 Gershwin Award Show. Most recently, Ashby participated in the start studded HBO broadcast of the 25th Anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at Madison Square Garden.
A Yamaha artist for many years, Ashby conducts master classes, residencies, and clinics worldwide. He holds degrees from Ithaca College and Duquesne University. Since 2011, Ashby has been on faculty at Oberlin Conservatory where he is currently the Director of Jazz Studies and teaches Jazz Trombone and Jazz Composition.