Ulysses S. Kay, African American Composer & Conductor Born Jan. 7, 1917

[Ulysses Kay: Works for Chamber Orchestra; Metropolitan Philharmonic Orchestra; Kevin Scott, Conductor; Troy 961 (2007)]

Ulysses Simpson Kay, Jr. was an African American composer, conductor and professor who was born on January 7, 1917 in Tucson, Arizona. Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma of Lawrence University has generously made his research entry on Kay available to AfriClassical.com He tells us young Ulysses was surrounded by music at home and began learning the piano at six, with the encouragement of an uncle who was a famous musician, King Oliver. The youth started learning the violin as well, at age 10, but at age 12 he dropped the piano and violin in favor of the alto saxophone. Ulysses formed a jazz quintet in which he played saxophone, and for which he composed and arranged music.

The International Dictionary of Black Composers gives this overview of Kay's output as a composer: “Ulysses Kay composed approximately 140 musical compositions for orchestra, chorus, chamber ensembles, piano, voice, organ, and band, and he wrote five operas as well as scores for film and television. Kay’s works appear in numerous published editions and on approximately 21 recordings. Avoiding obvious musical references to his ethnicity, Kay preferred to immerse himself in compositional procedures that were a natural outgrowth of his educational and international experiences. According to Robert D. Herrema, “Kay believes that a composer is the product of his extraction and environment as well as his political and ethnic interests, but should not be limited by them.” In spite of these reservations, however, Kay incorporated the use of black spirituals in the opera Jubilee (1974–76) and in his last opera, Frederick Douglass (1979–85), treated the life of the legendary abolitionist.” Ulysses Simpson Kay died in Englewood, New Jersey on May 20, 1995. The first major release devoted exclusively to the works of Ulysses S. Kay, Jr. is Ulysses Kay: Works for Chamber Orchestra; Metropolitan Philharmonic Orchestra; Kevin Scott, Conductor; Troy 961 (2007).  

Ulysses S. Kay
Born Jan. 7, 1917
African American Composer
Works for Chamber Orchestra
Kevin Scott
Dr. Dominique-René de Lerma