JAY RYAN – lead vocal, guitar
At the end of the 60’s Jay played the trombone in the streets of
Chicago in the High School Marching Band”. In 1972 it was at «Indiana University», where he avoided the draw to be sent to Vietnam and discovered the bass, the blues, and campus life…
In the mid-70’s he went off to Austin and became a member of the worst group in town… but the first group to play in the legendary
Continental Club. He was a regular at
Antone’s Blues Club where he listened to The Fabulous Thunderbirds every Thursday night.
In the middle of the Punk scene, we find him in New York for three years. He frequented CBGB’s and saw Lou Reed, Richard Hell… he lived in the “Lower East Side” and got by as he could as a waiter and taxi driver.
In 1980, he sold his bass to buy an airplane ticket and discovered the South of France «Provence». He also discovered French Cuisine and the cuisine of
Chez Ernest where he became a cook while at the same time putting together a blues band with the celebrated caterer from Cannes.
From the mid-80’s to 1999 Jay devoted all his time to music. We could find him along side
Yohan Asherton, Les Froggies, Jacno,
Paris Slim, in concert with
Elliot Murphy, in jam sessions with
Luther Allison as well as the manager bass player of the
Transcontinental Cowboys. He got back to Austin as a tour manager with Erick Marchand and Donnisulana and then crisscrossed North America again with D’Gary. Back in Paris he co-founded the record shop and label Cinq Planetes.
Living in Saint Denis, just behind the Porte de Clignancourt Flea Market, Jay, together with a team of fellow travelers put together
Jay and The Cooks in 2011.
DUTCH OVEN, the first album was finished in 2013 and released in 2014. «The Rolling Stones, Leadbelly, Reverend Gary Davis and Merle Haggard are also interpreted as if they were all originals coming from the same small town seated along the Blue Ridge Parkway».
In 2015, Jay realize
I’M HUNGRY (release in 2016). The second album is a meeting between Johnny Cash and the Stray Cats, overlooked by Lou Reed. Produced by a true Rockabilly, Country and Blues expert. Marco Di Maggio makes good use of the knowledge he gained while working with Terry Williams (Dire Straits), Slim Jim Phantom or Little Richard,…
In 2018, Jay present
UP THE MISSISSIPPI. Blues, Rock, Country, Folk… this third project is real cake walk through North American music… à la sauce de Jay And The Cooks ! Most compositions are original, no-frill texts, stories about society and some timeless hits.
