Jay Bennett
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Jay Walter Bennett (November 15, 1963 - May 24, 2009) was an American guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer, and singer-songwriter.
Biography
Bennett was a founding member of Titanic Love Affair. The band recorded three albums in the 1990s: Titanic Love Affair (1991), No Charisma (1992), and Their Titanic Majesty's Request (1996).
From 1994 through 2001 Bennett was a member of Wilco. Conflicts between front man Jeff Tweedy and Bennett that would contribute to Bennett's split with Wilco are visible in the Sam Jones film I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco.
After leaving Wilco, Bennett released five albums. The first, entitled The Palace at 4am (Undertow Music), was a collaboration with Champaign musician Edward Burch. 2004's Bigger Than Blue was a more stripped-down set of personal songs. In the same year he released The Beloved Enemy, which saw Bennett exploring his personal turmoil in even more intimate detail. In 2005, he produced jam band Blues Traveler's eighth studio album, ¡Bastardos!. The Magnificent Defeat, was released in September, 2006. He released Whatever Happened I Apologize in November 2008 on rockproper.com.
Bennett was a much sought after studio session player as well, having played on albums by Sheryl Crow, Allison Moorer, and Billy Joe Shaver, among many others.
In May 2009, Bennett sued Wilco front man Jeff Tweedy for breach of contract stemming from his work for Wilco. The suit came less than two weeks after Bennett publicly revealed that he needed hip replacement surgery which he could not afford due to lack of health insurance. On May 24, 2009 Bennett died unexpectedly in his sleep.
Bennett lived in Urbana, Illinois, where he spent most of his time writing songs and recording in his private studio.
