Jay Azzolina

Jay Azzolina secured his standing among respected jazz guitarists upon his 1989 entry into the fusion supergroup Spyro Gyra, coinciding with the appearance of his first independent recording, Never Too Late. Before that point, he had served as an accompanist for figures including Jeff Beal. While his supporting performances earned notice and helped build his profile in jazz circles, it was his connection to Spyro Gyra that truly cemented his reputation as an exceptional jazz guitarist. He participated in the group’s Point of View album from 1989, which reached a broad national listenership among jazz fans, and continued with them through Fast Forward in 1990. Meanwhile, Never Too Late had come out in 1988 after being tracked during the winter of 1987-1988, prior to his Spyro Gyra tenure. Ted Macero handled production duties for the Antilles imprint under Island, and the record highlighted Azzolina’s skills both on guitar and in composition. A gap followed before Past Tense arrived in 2000. In the years between, he stayed near his relatives in upstate New York and instructed at multiple local colleges. After Past Tense, which included input from saxophonist Chris Potter along with bassist John Patitucci, he issued Live at One Station Plaza in 2002 as a fully original collection with organist Gary Versace and drummer Adam Nussbaum contributing. The Garagista label put out Local Dialect in 2007.