Jay Migliori, a jazz saxophonist celebrated for his versatility as a session musician, died of colon cancer on 2 September 2001 in Mission Viejo, California, at the age of 70. Across a career spanning several decades, he played on roughly 4,000 recordings, working with artists as varied as the Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, Frank Zappa, Dean Martin, Ray Charles and Céline Dion, and co-founded the group Supersax, which won a Grammy Award in recognition of its tribute to Charlie Parker.

Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1930, Migliori took up the saxophone at 12 and went on to study at Berklee College of Music after serving in the US Air Force. He began recording in 1955 and toured with Woody Herman's big band before settling in Los Angeles as a session musician, later contributing tenor saxophone to Supersax's Grammy-winning 1973 album Supersax Plays Bird and to five Beach Boys albums, including Pet Sounds. He also released three solo jazz albums and continued performing live in California venues until six weeks before his death.