Biography
Jay Meltzer
Music has always been a part of my life. In my early twenties, I was a member of local 802, the NYC Musicians Union. Every Wed. afternoon, I would go to the Roseland Ballroom on W52nd St, gather with other local musicians and contractors, and try to book club dates for the upcoming weeks. Club dates were usually weddings or Bar Mitzvahs. Sometimes you could find summer gigs up in the Catskill Mountains. I recently found hidden treasure buried deep in a 50 year old box from this era. It was my old repertoire. There were over 300 songs listed.
During my years as a computer consultant on Wall Street, music took a backseat to running a business, but one of the reasons I enjoyed writing software was that creating computer algorithms is very similar to creating music. These days, data processing is now in balance with music which has re-emerged as an import aspect of my life.
How blessed I am that my life's partner loves to play the bass. We have always made "great music" together in whatever endeavor we have undertaken, but now that our journey through life has us gliding along the notes of a song, we can now express ourselves with our unique sound and share our music with you!
Hawaii 1972
Before settling in the NYC area, I did a lot of travelling. At one point, I lived in Hawaii, earning a living driving a taxicab around Honolulu, but there was always time for music. I became a member of a local band blues/rock band. We performed concerts at the University of Hawaii and anywhere else we could find work. Buried under a hat and beard, you can see me playing clarinet in that band.
Music Reborn
Life in the Florida Keys was great. There was time to hunt, fish, and kayak. There was also time to explore music.
A dear friend, Regis Cook, gave me a wonderful gift, a midi keyboard, and so it began. The world of digital music, which I never experienced, opened up before me. Digital music led me back to more traditional music forms and new pianos and guitars were subsequently purchased. I even began performing at local clubs on Key Largo and on the beach at our condo.
Ildiko Meltzer
Although Ildy learned to play piano at a very early age, she favored more athletic endeavors and became very involved in her passion, fencing. She pursued fencing through her college days at NYU. During our time in the Florida Keys, she became interested in playing bass and began playing my old Fender bass. The only problem was that the old Fender is very heavy. She took it upon herself to find a more suitable "ax" and settled on a Hofner Violin Bass. Ildy is virtuoso on the bass. Her performance adds an innate sense of musical pulse, a beautiful sense of how melody can augment harmonic direction, and the determination to put it all together. It works powerfully!
December 2022
Here’s a great picture of Ildy playing her Hofner Violin bass while we were recording a Christmas video of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.
