Jay Ottaway Bio
Jay Ottaway is an award-winning singer-songwriter called by Germany’s Rockradio.de “one of the most innovative artists of our time.” He has been honored by American Songwriter Magazine, the USA Songwriting, International Songwriting, the U.K. Songwriting, and the Peacedriven Songwriting Contests, in addition to multiple awards from the Berklee College of Music where he studied songwriting. He has toured for decades throughout Europe with The Jay Ottaway Band (www.jayottawayband.de) and since 2019 with Jay Ottaway and the Lost Boys (www.jayottawayandthelostboys.com). In the U.S. he has teamed up with Dan Bowden, Greg Holt, and Ralph Rosen in Boston to form the acoustic-based, Jay Ottaway and The Ramble (www.jayottawayandtheramble.com). His concerts feature his own award-winning music mixed with classics from Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Grateful Dead and other blues and classic rock legends.
As a songwriter Jay Ottaway’s style ranges from contemporary Folk and Blues to Rock and his works have been featured on television (i.e. WDR, Germany) and in documentary films (i.e. Irene: Ruin to Renewal). His 2014 studio album entitled "Carry On" was called by music critic Steve Braun of Rocktimes.de “his white-hot contender for Album of the Year” while his 7th studio double-album "Winter's Journey" (2017) also received rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic. For “Winter’s Journey” he found inspiration from the 19th Century German Poet Wilhelm Müller. The 24 songs are inspired by Müllers poems from the “Winterreise” on which Franz Schubert also based his famous song cycle. Ottaway’s interpretations move between powerful Rock ballads to bluesy Jazz, while integrating Country and Folk influences. In 2020 Ottaway released the single “World on Fire” produced by Julian Müller (Blackberries, Suzan Köcher’s Suprafon) a rising star in the European music scene. The album “World on Fire” was released in December 2021 and was a Rockradio.de "CD of the week" the week of its release.
As a festival producer he has co-produced the Plymouth Folk and Blues Festival in Plymouth, Vermont since 2003 (www.plymouthfolk.com) as well as the Cologne Blues-Rock Jamfest in Cologne, Germany from 2005 to 2009.
Discography
EP - City Summer Nights/2004
EP - On and On (Solo Acoustic)/2005
CD - New Old World/2006
CD – Come and Go/2007
Single - Yes We Can/2009
CD – Modern Times / 2009
CD – Three Times A Day / 2010
CD – Coming Home to You / 2012
CD- Carry On / 2014
CD- The Jay Ottaway Band: Live in Europe / 2014
CD - Winter’s Journey /2017
CD - The Jay Ottaway Band: Live in Bamberg / 2018
Single - World on Fire/2020
Single - Fresh Ride/2021
CD - World on Fire /2021
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ASCAP - James Ottaway #1786497
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Links:
www.facebook.com/jayottaway
www.facebook.com/jayottawayband
www.facebook.com/jayottawayandthelostboys
www.facebook.com/jayottawayandtheramble
www.facebook.com/plymouthfolk
