In 1977 Jay enrolled at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. His degree program was Guitar Performance. He studied classical guitar for three years with well-known guitarist and Christopher Parkening protégé, Douglas Niedt. In 1979 Jay began studying with John Elliott, a legend among Kansas City jazz musicians. He studied with John for seven years, up to February of '86. All during this period Jay was playing full-time - locally in the Kansas City area as well as touring nationally as a sideman and later with his own band.

In 1986, tired of the roadwork and needing to be at home with his growing family, Jay started concentrating on building up a student load that would support them and keep him off the road. In a very short time he was teaching 80+ students a week and still performing locally 2 or 3 times a week. He also began accumulating recording equipment and since 1991 there have been 5 releases, 4 recordings of original music and 1 of jazz standards on his own record label, Music Room Records.

In 1999 Jay released a series of method books for guitar, Vertical Truth: Chordal Mechanisms for the Guitar. He has built a national network of teachers who are using his books.

Jay’s music has also been featured in several documentary films, as well as in many other broadcast applications.

Jay has opened for or backed up many national and international acts including Marilyn Maye, Ronnie Laws, Billy Paul, Joanna Connor, John Lee Hooker Jr, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Black Oak Arkansas, The Little River Band, Spirit,The Impressions and R Kelly.He works occasionally with Grammy-nominee Smooth Jazz artist Max Groove as well as Haji Ahkba (Van Morrison, James Brown). In the late '80's and early '90's, he was in 2 different bands led by famed jazz vocalist Kevin Mahogany. He has performed in a duo setting with jazz guitarist Steve Cardenas. He has performed with Narada Michael Walden (Mahavishnu Orchestra, Santana, Sting, Whitney Huston, etc), Claude "Fiddler" Williams, Karrin Allyson, and Will Matthews of the Count Basie Band, to name just a few. In 2011 Jay began working with African Pop singer Jose Hendrix.

Today Jay continues to perform, teach, write and record as a respected member of the Kansas City musical community and he gets to play the guitar all day - every day.