Rediscovering an American Master: The Ulysses Kay Papers

Born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, Ulysses Kay practiced music from a young age.4 Encouraged by both his mother and uncle--the renowned jazz musician Joe "King" Oliver--Kay studied piano, violin, and saxophone. UKP, Box 4/Folder 60, RBML, Columbia University Library. * 17 N.S. [Noel Straus], "Symphony Group in Formal Debut," New York Times, 22 May 1948. * 18 Carol J. Oja, "Everett Lee and the Racial Politics of Orchestral Conducting," American Music Review 43 (Fall 2013): 1-7. * 19 This was in fact not the premiere of Five Mosaics, as Oja states on page 4 of her article; Five Mosaics was first performed by the Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra on 28 December 1940, conducted by F. Karl Grossman.