Jay Chattaway (born July 8, 1946) is an American
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
of
film and television scores. He is mainly known for his work as composer for several ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' television series: ''
Star Trek: The Next Generation'', ''
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', ''
Star Trek: Voyager'', and ''
Star Trek: Enterprise
''Star Trek: Enterprise'', titled simply ''Enterprise'' for its first two seasons, is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. It originally aired from September 26, 2001, to May 13, 2005 on Uni ...
''.
In 2001, he won an Emmy for
Outstanding Music for a Series for the
final episode of ''Star Trek: Voyager''.
Early life
Chattaway was born in
Monongahela, Pennsylvania
Monongahela, referred to locally as Mon City, is a third class city in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Pittsburgh, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is about south of Pittsburgh proper. The population was 4 ...
and studied music at
West Virginia University
West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...
.
College career
At WVU, Chattaway was also a member of many student organizations, including the Mountaineer Marching Band,
Lambda Chi Alpha
Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...
social fraternity,
Kappa Kappa Psi
Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity (, colloquially referred to as KKPsi), is a fraternity for college and university band members in the United States. It was founded on November 27, 1919, on Thanksgiving Day, at Oklahoma Agricul ...
honorary band service fraternity, and
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America (colloquially known as Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Phi Mu Alpha, or simply Sinfonia) () is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music. The fraternity is open to men "w ...
men's music social fraternity.
He was initiated into the Omicron Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi at WVU on December 6, 1965, and is currently an alumni brother of the fraternity. His initiation into the Epsilon Sigma chapter of Phi Mu Alpha took place on March 1, 1965.
He became a regular member of a rhythm and blues band called the Abductors in which he played trumpet, wrote the musical scores, and was musical director.
Music career
He was drafted into the military while working on his graduate degree and joined the
Navy Band, serving as the unit's chief
arranger
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...
and composer. After his discharge from the
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
, Chattaway moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to write music. He later moved to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
to compose for film.
Chattaway is also well known as an arranger of big band charts for the
Maynard Ferguson
Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often served ...
Orchestra during the 1970s, and also composed or co-composed some of Ferguson's hits, including "
Conquistador
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...
", "
Superbone Meets the Bad Man", and "
Primal Scream
Primal Scream are a Scottish rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie. The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simone Butler (bass), and Darrin Mooney (drums) ...
". Years before his association with the ''Star Trek'' franchise, Chattaway also arranged and produced a 1979 version of the theme from ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' by Ferguson.
Chattaway's film scores include ''
Maniac
Maniac (from Greek μανιακός, ''maniakos'') is a pejorative for an individual who experiences the mood known as mania. In common usage, it is also an insult for someone involved in reckless behavior.
Maniac may also refer to:
Film
* ' ...
'' (1980), ''
Vigilante
Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority.
A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...
'' (1983), ''
The Big Score'' (1983), ''
The Last Fight'' (1983), ''
The Rosebud Beach Hotel
''The Rosebud Beach Hotel'' is a 1984 American comedy film directed by Harry Hurwitz and starring Colleen Camp, Peter Scolari, Christopher Lee, and Fran Drescher.
Plot
After taking over a failing Miami hotel with her workaholic fiancé Elliot ( ...
'' (1984), ''
Missing in Action
Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been killed, wounded, captured, ex ...
'' (1984), ''
Invasion U.S.A.'' (1985), ''
Silver Bullet
In folklore, a bullet cast from silver is often one of the few weapons that are effective against a werewolf or witch. The term ''silver bullet'' is also a metaphor for a simple, seemingly magical, solution to a difficult problem: for example, pe ...
'' (1985), ''
Walking the Edge
''Walking the Edge'' is a 1985 crime film and action film directed by Norbert Meisel, written by Curt Allen and starring Robert Forster, Nancy Kwan, Joe Spinell, A Martinez, James McIntire, Wayne Woodson, Luis Contreras.
Plot
A criminal gang l ...
'' (1985), ''
Braddock: Missing in Action III'' (1988), ''
Maniac Cop
''Maniac Cop'' is a 1988 American action slasher film directed by William Lustig, written by Larry Cohen, and starring Tom Atkins, Bruce Campbell, Laurene Landon, Richard Roundtree, William Smith, Robert Z'Dar, and Sheree North. Z'Dar plays th ...
'' (1988), ''
Red Scorpion
''Red Scorpion'' is a 1988 American action film starring Dolph Lundgren and directed by Joseph Zito. Lundgren appears as a Soviet special forces operative sent to assassinate an anti-communist rebel leader in Africa, only to side with the rebe ...
'' (1988), ''
Relentless
Relentless may refer to:
Film
* ''Relentless'' (1948 film), an American film directed by George Sherman
* ''Relentless'', a 1977 American television film starring Will Sampson
* ''Relentless'' (1989 film), an American crime film starring Jud ...
'' (1989), ''
Far Out Man'' (1990), ''
Maniac Cop 2
''Maniac Cop 2'' is a 1990 American action slasher film directed by William Lustig and written by Larry Cohen. It is the second installment in the ''Maniac Cop'' film series. It stars Robert Davi, Claudia Christian, Michael Lerner, and Bruce Ca ...
'' (1990), ''
The Ambulance
''The Ambulance'' is a 1990 American comedy thriller film written and directed by Larry Cohen. It stars Eric Roberts, Megan Gallagher, James Earl Jones, Janine Turner, Red Buttons, and Eric Braeden as the Doctor. Kevin Hagen plays a cop. In hi ...
'' (1990), ''
Rich Girl'' (1991), and ''
Delta Force One: The Lost Patrol'' (2000).
Chattaway's original concert band compositions include ''Parade of the Tall Ships'' (concert march), ''Mazama (Legend Of The Pacific Northwest)'', ''Sailabration'', and ''Windsong''.
References
External links
*
Bio and listing of works for concert band and jazz ensemble
* https://www.barnhouse.com/composer/jay-chattaway/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chattaway, Jay
1946 births
Living people
People from Monongahela, Pennsylvania
American film score composers
American male film score composers
American television composers
Concert band composers
Musicians from Pittsburgh
West Virginia University alumni
Varèse Sarabande Records artists