Playing with Sandra McCracken in Kansas City, MO, August 2020.

Jay Foote plays electric, acoustic, and synth basses and is known for vocal harmonies. Foote played with many of New York, Nashville, and LA’s finest songwriters. In the last fifteen years, he has performed with Grammy-award-winning Madison Cunningham, Sufjan Stevens, The Lone Bellow, Peter Bradley Adams, British Soul Singer James Morrison, Ingrid Michaelson, Scott Metzer’s Wolf!, Diane Birch, and on Broadway with Sara Bareilles, Jason Mraz, and Jordin Sparks. As a section bassist for the Eagles and Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander. He has recorded with Madison Cunningham and Anthony DaCosta, The Weepies’ Deb Talan, Sandra McCracken, Bo Ramsey, Jaymay, Peter Bradley Adams, Greg Holden, James Tutson, Josh Garrels, Bee Caves, Matt Bauer, Julia Nunes, The Wellpennies, Austin Plaine, The Welcome Wagon, Tummyache, and The Gregory Brothers.

He played over 800 performances on upright, electric, and synth bass on Broadway in New York City for award-winning shows at “Hamilton,” Sara Bareilles’s “Waitress,“ “Dear Evan Hansen,” “The Band’s Visit,” “Tootsie,” “Amelie,” and “Mean Girls.” In addition, he has performed with the touring companies of “Hamilton,” and “Dear Evan Hansen.” He traveled to Taipei, Taiwan in February 2020 to perform with the “Stars of Broadway” Revival.

As a jazz bassist, he performed with saxophonist David Binney, MacArthur Genius Grant Winner Tyshawn Sorey, Conduction Improvisor Butch Morris’s Orchestra, drummer Kenny Wolleson, pianist Jon Cowherd, trumpeter Mike Maher (of Snarky Puppy), composer Maria Schneider, and trumpeter Clark Terry. He was also a member of the award-winning bluegrass band King Wilkie, with whom he performed with bluegrass great Peter Rowan, Aoife O'Donovan, and The Byrds’ Chris Hilman.

Foote produced 12 albums in the last 8 years, including albums for Austin Plaine, Anthony da Costa, Sandra McCracken, Jaymay, Nicolai Wilkins, and Andrew Rose Gregory.

National television appearances include The Late Show with David Letterman, Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, Conan (TBS), Jimmy Kimmel, Ellen, NBC’s Today Show, CBS This Morning, CBS Saturday Morning, Carson Daly Show, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Artie Lang Show, and VH1’s Big Morning Buzz.

Other broadcast performances include nationally televised shows in Canada, Italy, Spain, Japan, and Yemen. Foote has performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival, Fuji Rock Festival (Japan), Greenbelt Festival (UK), SingFest (Singapore), Jisan Valley Rock Festival (South Korea), and the Montreal Jazz Festival. He has played the historic Ryman Theater (Nashville), Budokan (Tokyo), Central Park Summer Stage (NYC), Massey Hall (Toronto), Kennedy Center (DC), and Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble (Woodstock, NY).

He performed with Bee Caves and Diane Birch on Daytrotter, WNYC’s Soundcheck with Sophie Auster and Laura Gibson, Mountain Stage with Diane Birch, World Cafe Live with Madison Cunningham, Diane Birch, Greg Holden, Jamie McLean, and Matt Bauer, and Paste Magazine performances with Anthony da Costa and Austin Plaine.

His acoustic bass playing is featured supporting Jaymay in the feature films “Happythankyoumoreplease,” “A Good Marriage,” and behind Ambrosia Parsley in the Grammy-nominated “Silver Linings Playbook.” You can also hear his bass playing on the “CBS This Morning” theme song every morning.
Foote has two instrumental music records out under his own name. In 2006, Budd Kopman from allaboutjazz.com named “UBUNTU!” one of the year's best instrumental jazz records.

Foote is a member of the Local 802 NYC Musicians Union and a charter member of the NYC chapter of the Jim Keltner Fan Club. He is an AmSAT-certified Alexander Technique teacher in Des Moines, Iowa. He was a Senior Assistant trainer on the Balance Arts Center AT Teacher Training Course for five years. He served on the AmSAT Board of Directors from 2018-2020. His degrees include a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Northern Iowa and a Master in Music in Jazz Performance from William Paterson University. In 2023, Foote completed a Master's in Social Work from the University of Iowa and is working as a therapist in private practice at Seva Counseling in Des Moines.

Since moving to Des Moines in 2020, he has performed regularly with The Des Moines Symphony, The Well Pennies, and The Mind@Large.

He endorses Aguilar Amplifiers.