Musical jack-of-all-trades Jefferson Jay tends to make an impression. A larger-than-life figure with a razor sharp wit, the sharp-dressed Jay arrived in San Diego from New Jersey in 2000, quickly becoming a fixture in the local music scene. A tireless combination of promoter, songwriter and quirky musician who promotes a local music series at the La Jolla Athenaeum, Jay’s home turf is actually the Portugalia restaurant. Jay hosts a regular Tuesday night open mic night at the venue as well as weekly music showcases. Though Jay spends the lion’s share of his time helping to promote other peoples’ music, he has managed to release three albums to date, including Red and Blue from a trilogy he has dubbed “Primary Colors.” Jay’s music is a kaleidoscope of influences without musical boundaries, taking in jazz, rock, soul, blues and more — sometimes in a single verse. On Thursday, April 15, Portugalia will be the site of a combination birthday party for Jay, as well as a CD-release show for his third album in the series, “Yellow.” Musical guests will include pianist Patricia Mueller, Richard Romero, Chris Zach, Wes Davis and pop trio Acoustic Booze. “I recorded all three at the same time between 2005 and 2007, releasing them over the past two years,” Jay said. “I thought recording that way would speed up the process of putting out new music. But it ended up taking just as long.” “Yellow’s” 10 tracks contain plenty of Jay’s signature humor and blend of musical genres, but he said there was one unforeseen problem in spreading out the release of albums recorded. “It’s not an issue with 99 percent of the songs, but some of the lyrics have dated a little,” Jay said. “There are a couple of songs that deal with social issues. So, the names and places may have changed. But the sentiment is pretty much the same.” Jay said having a positive message in his music is important. “It’s a big world and it needs a lot of help,” he said. “I’d definitely like to see more people getting involved in the world around us, more actual doing than shouting points. We’re lucky that San Diegans seem to be much more conscious of this than people are in other places.” Balancing message with fun, “Yellow” also highlights Jay’s Zappa-esque humor, such as in the tune “Dawson,” appropriately enough, a tribute to anyone named Dawson. “There are 31 songs across the trilogy,” Jay said. “It’s like ice cream. Thirty-one flavors of music.” Jay’s motivation for releasing the Primary Colors series comes from his musical heroes, though not in the way one might think. “My goal is to have a big discography,” Jay said. “All the musicians I admire have a lot of albums out, so I figured I would do the same. These first four albums form the foundation of my future music. I hope to have the longetivity of life. I know I’ll have the longetivity of inspiration.” Though “Yellow” is barely off the presses, Jay is already hard at work on his next disc. It is tentatively titled “The Great New Way.” Meanwhile, disc number six, an acoustic project, is already lined up. “I have a big backlog of songs and I’m just trying to catch up,” Jay said. He added that the opportunity to make music trumps just about all for him. “Music is what I feel in my soul,” Jay said. “It means so many different things to people, but everybody likes music,” he said. “It’s kind of like the sun.” Jay performs Thursday, April 15 at Portugalia, 4839 Newport Ave. at 7 p.m. 21 and up. For more information, visit www.sdportugalia.com.