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Jay Sewall was born in Boston in 1942, a few minutes from Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox. After the war he moved with his mother
to Montreal where he was raised by his mother and grandmother. At 15, he bought his first guitar, a second hand Stella and took
lessons for two years at La Salle Music in N.D.G. During this period he started his first band, the Petes & Jay Quartet. They
played the songs of the day -- Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Duane Eddy as well as hits from the 40's and some of Jay's compositions --
at sock hops and school dances.
In 1962, Jay went to the University of New Brunswick where he studied Physical Education and went on to teach high school and
also at a special school for delinquent teenagers. Meanwhile, he continued to entertain his passion for music by jumping into
the folk scene of the 60's. Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee were a few of his early musical heroes.
Jay performed their songs plus his own in coffee houses, bars and even won the U. N. B. talent contest in Saint John, N. B. in
1967. It was during this period that he learned to play harmonica -- the instrument which would become his true passion. He learned
by using his knowledge of the guitar, listening to the albums of Sonny Terry, Charlie McCoy, Paul Butterfield and later all of the
Chicago bluesmen...as well as a fine Montreal player, Martin Boodman.
Finally, in 1977, Jay left school teaching and went to Chicago, Detroit, Toronto and finally returned to Montreal where he formed a
very successful group, The Mighty Jay Blues Band. However, the need for change prevailed once again and after performing at the
Montreal International Jazz Festival in 1985, Jay disbanded the group and headed off to India where he pursued his love for yoga
and meditation. This led to two more such adventures in India during the late 80's. Around this time Jay made another major move --
he left Montreal for Quebec City, where he enrolled in Laval University to improve his French -- even composing several songs in
the language of Molière.
Today, Jay is an ever-present member of the Quebec blues community. For ten years and counting he has been conducting local blues
jams; he teaches harmonica and guitar to beginners and professionals; he does the programming for the city’s Charlesblues
Series; and he continues to perform at local bars, private parties, colleges and festivals. Since 1999, Jay has made annual
pilgrimages to Louisiana where he immerses himself in its rich musical culture. His strongly traditional blues and folk repertoire
has expanded and now includes Indian blues, Louisiana blues and New Orleans jazz. Many of his newest compositions reflect these
influences and can be heard on his last album “Jay Sewall Live”.
In September 2008, Jay received the prestigious Lys Blues Lifetime Achievement Award. The gala took place at the Théâtre du
Petit Champlain on September 28, and was produced by Le Net Blues of Montreal.To commemorate this milestone, Jay has recorded
an all blues album with producer and multi-instrumentalist, Ken Whiteley, who is also a two-time Juno winner and Grammy nominee.
This fifth CD is devoted to his true passion, the harmonica, and will be released in May 2009.
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