Ulysses Simpson Kay (January 7, 1917 in Tucson, Arizona – May 20, 1995 in Englewood, New Jersey) was an American composer.
[1] Kay, the nephew of the classic jazz musician King Oliver, studied piano, violin and saxophone.
[2] He attended the University of Arizona, where he was encouraged by the African-American composer William Grant Still.
After a stint as a musician in the United States Navy during World War II,[3] Kay studied at Columbia University under Otto Luening with the assistance of a grant from the Julius Rosenwald Fund.
[9][8] A resident of Teaneck, New Jersey, Ulysses Kay died due to complications of Parkinson's disease at the age of 78 at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center on May 20, 1995.