Jay Yoo is a guitarist, composer, and arranger originally from South Korea, and now based and active in Toronto. He graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance, receiving the ‘Noreen and Phil Nimmons Entrance Scholarship’ (renewable) for four years.
Having studied with a number of renowned musicians such as Geoff Young, Mike Murley, and David Occhipinti, he is a versatile musician, being active in numerous projects that explore multiple musical genres ranging from jazz, funk, rock and R&B to musical theater. Some of the projects Jay is and has been involved in are; fusion bands ‘Superbreakfast’, ‘Dennis Kwok Quartet’, and award winning band ‘Snaggle’, as well as ‘Jenna Marie R&B’ and ‘Jenna Marie Jazz Group’. He has performed in reputable festivals and venues in and around Toronto with these groups, such as Uptown Waterloo Jazz Festival, Beaches Jazz Festival, TUJF (Toronto Undergratduate Jazz Festival), Sudbury Jazz Festival (Emerging Artists), Koerner Hall, The Rex Hotel Jazz&Blues Bar, Upstairs Jazz Bar, and many more.
To further continue his musical explorations, Jay has attended the Banff International Workshop in Jazz & Creative Music in August 2019, where he studied with Matana Roberts, Linda Oh, as well as Vijay Iyer and Tyshawn Sorey.
His collaborative duo project with the vocalist Jenna Marie Pinard, titled ‘Here, Now’ debuted in November of 2019, with the aid of an FMUA (Faculty of Music Undergraduate Association) Grant.
