Musician Jay Bennett has died

Jay Bennett photographed for the Chicago Reader in 2004 by Jim Newberry.

Very sad news.

From Undertow Music Collective, Bennett’s record label:

We are profoundly saddened to report that our friend died in his sleep last night. Jay was a beautiful human being who will be missed.

Chicago Tribune:

Jay Bennett, a former member of Chicago-based rock band Wilco, has died, according to a posting Sunday on the Web site of his record label.

Bennett, 45, a multi-instrumentalist who was a member of Wilco from 1994 to 2001, was a creative foil to bandleader Jeff Tweedy on the band’s highly acclaimed albums “Summerteeth” and “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.” Bennett’s acrimonious split from the band after the recording of the latter album was chronicled in the 2002 documentary “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.”

Chicago Sun-Times:

“Early this morning, Jay died in his sleep and an autopsy is being performed,” said Edward Burch, a friend and musician who collaborated with Bennett on the 2005 album “The Palace at 4 a.m.” “The family is in mourning and is unavailable for comment at this time.”

Born in the Chicago suburb of Rolling Meadows, Bennett began playing in bands as a teenager. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and earned multiple degrees in secondary education, math and political science. In between, he co-founded the Replacements-like power-pop band Titanic Love Affair, which released three albums during the alternative-rock heyday between 1991 and 1996, when it was dropped from its label.

Bennett was working at a VCR repair shop in Champaign when he was tapped to join Wilco as it toured in support of its first album, “A.M.” A talented arranger and versatile musician who could play virtually any instrument he picked up, from mandolin to Mellotron, Bennett formed a fruitful partnership with Wilco bandleader Jeff Tweedy. His contributions over a seven-year period were key to the albums that resulted in the band’s national breakthrough, including “Being There” (1996), “Summerteeth” (1999) and “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” (2002).