Jay Vilnai - Who I am

I was born in the winter of 1977 in Jerusalem and showed no musical interest whatsoever until I picked up an acoustic guitar when I was 14. I wanted to be able to strum along to songs by the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd. A year later I heard my first blues recording and was absolutely floored. I spent a couple of years pursuing blues exclusively, and jazz was just a natural extension of that.

I started playing with Arnie Lawrence whenever he came to town (about twice a year) and then when he moved to Jerusalem permanently. In 1998 I moved to New York to pursue an English degree. While attending the New School, I also met and played with various musicians and formed Quantum Quartet, which released its only album in 2001 and remained active until 2002. At that period of time I was also fortunate to play with such young musicians as Joe Deninzon, Scott DuBois, and others, as well as share the stage with some older Jazz legends. In 2000 I dropped out of the English program and enrolled in the New School's Jazz and Contemporary Music Program. There I got the chance to study with some of the greatest musicians in New York, such as Brad Shepik, Vic Juris, Richard Boukas, Reggie Workman, Phil Markowitz and Kirk Nurock. I graduated from the program in the Fall of 2003.

It was during that time, and while reflecting on my past and varied cultural influences that I started getting interested in folk music from around the world, and how it still relates to me and to the musicians around me. It was from that idea that the music for Vampire Suit was born, an attempt to redefine our musical heritage by drawing equally on the many sources it comes from. Currently I am pursuing different musical directions. As a guitarist, I work with jazz and world music bands such as Aaron Alexander's Midrash Mish Mosh, Paradox Trio and Romashka, and have shared the stage or studio with such diverse musicians as Frank London, Roy Nathanson, Matt Moran, Reuben Radding, Allison Miller, Matt Darriau, Timothy Quigley, Dave Ambrosio and many more. With these musicians and others I've performed all over New York, at clubs such as Tonic, Barbes, Knitting Factory, Jazz Standard, Cornelia St. Cafe, Zebulon, Makor and more. The bulk of my musical efforts is towards composing and performing as the leader of Vampire Suit and TRIO, teaching privately and pursuing an M.M in composition at CUNY's Brooklyn College.