Jay Angoff

About Jay

Jay Angoff is a uniquely accomplished figure whose life blends high-level public policy with a lifelong passion for music. A former antitrust lawyer and health care regulator, Angoff played a major role in shaping the Affordable Care Act as the first Director of the Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight under President Obama, where he crafted many of the law’s most enduring consumer protections. Earlier, he served as Director of Insurance in Missouri and worked with Ralph Nader’s Congress Watch, as well as the Federal Trade Commission.

Despite these serious policy credentials, Angoff has also led a vibrant musical career. Since 2014, he has been a dueling piano player every Saturday night at the Georgetown Piano Bar in Washington, D.C., where he's known for his unexpected and crowd-pleasing performances—from Beatles ballads to full rap renditions of “Gangsta’s Paradise.”

His musical journey began behind a meat counter in eighth grade and went on to include playing with Brooklyn Bridge (of “The Worst That Could Happen” fame), a yearlong stint with Elliott Murphy’s touring band, and sharing stages with acts like Billy Joel, The Kinks, Aerosmith, Jefferson Starship, Sammy Kershaw, JoDee Messina, and Jerry Lee Lewis. In the late 1990s and 2000s, Angoff also played piano for rock legend Chuck Berry during his Missouri concerts—Berry being famously frugal and preferring to pick up local musicians in each city.

Angoff has performed in soul bands, country groups, show bands, disco ensembles, and jazz quartets.