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Clark Gayton
Clark Gayton was born in Seattle, Washington, January 18th, 1963. After graduating high school in 1981, Gayton received a scholarship to attend the Berklee School of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, from which he graduated in 1984. Gayton then moved to Oakland briefly before moving to New York in 1987.
Since living in New York, Clark has worked with some of the finest jazz musicians in the world, such as Charles Tolliver, Lionel Hampton, McCoy Tyner, The Duke Ellington Orchestra, the Mingus Big Band, Ted Nash and Odeon, Ben Allison and Medicine Wheel, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, the Count Basie Orchestra Nancy Wilson, and Ray Charles. Clark toured with Bruce Springsteen as part of the Seeger Sessions band as well as the E Street Band. Clark has recorded or performed with Bruce Springsteen, Prince, Sting, Rhianna, U2, Steel Pulse, Wyclef Jean, Queen Latifah, Quincy Jones, Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder, Santana, Maxwell, Brazilian Girls, The Skatalites, and Bad Brains, to name a few. He played with The Roots on May 8, 2015 when they backed U2. In addition, he is a strong advocate for musicians’ rights and has been a panelist for discussions about the online and independent music industry.
He was inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill on May 31, 2015. He performs regularly in NYC with the band Fatboy Kanootch which he co-founded with fellow NY Blues Hall of Fame inductee, Brian Mitchell.
Awards
New York Blues Hall of Fame Inductee, May 31, 2015
Tags
Michael Blake: Combobulate
by Chris May
The instrumentation alone promises something out of the ordinary. Saxophone, two tubas, trumpet, trombone, drums. Then there are the musicians, luminaries of downtown New York jazz. Michael Blake, Bob Stewart, Marcus Rojas, Steven Bernstein, Clark Gayton, Allan Mednard. And within seconds of the needle descending on track one, side one, Combobulate starts delivering on the promise. The album is one of four marking the return of audiophile-vinyl label Newvelle after a two-year hiatus. The approximate meaning of its ...
read moreJuliet Varnedoe: Cajun Bleu
by C. Michael Bailey
New York City vocalist Juliet Varnedoe has developed a keen feel for the collective music of New Orleans. Her first single from her self produced 2022 release Cajun Blue, Mon Chéri" revealed an international approach to the regional music that freely mixed Dixieland with zydeco, the blues, and sleek Caribbean sounds, creating a languid, humid and organic breeze. On her follow-up single, Sing High Sing Low," Varnedoe swerves hard into the direction of zydeco, taking full advantage of ...
read moreJuliet Varnedoe: Cajun Blue
by C. Michael Bailey
New York based singer songwriter Juliet Varnedoe has a plan. She has developed a New Orleans themed recording, Cajun Blue, which is to be released later this year, a collection of eight original blues and jazz songs combining the disparate influences of King Oliver Creole Band, the classical French chanson as realized by Blossom Dearie and Juliette Greco, with an alchemic shot of the cool scintillating vibe of Serge Gainsborough. In preparation for the delivery of Cajun Blue, Varnedoe is ...
read moreMonika Ryan: Windmills
by Edward Blanco
Jazz vocalist Monika Ryan has recorded a series of albums as leader since 2000 with the sensuous and audacious Windmills, a tribute to the lyrics of composers Alan and Marilyn Bergman, one of her latest projects. Voicing a repertoire of beautiful love songs and ballads, Ryan caresses the lyrics of each song with a measure of emotion and taste making for a vocal jazz album that's a pleasure to hear often. Supporting her crisp vocal instrument are a ...
read moreBen Allison & Medicine Wheel: Buzz
by Rob Cline
Despite its moderate tempo, Respiration," the opening track on Buzz, sets an insistent tone that drives the album’s first three tracks. Bassist Ben Allison penned all three charts, which feature tight, energetic ensemble playing by the six-piece band as well as plenty of open space for improvisation, including a textured piano solo by Frank Kimbrough on Respiration" and a blistering tenor solo by either Michael Blake or Ted Nash (the promo copy of the disc does not specify) on Buzz." ...
read moreBen Allison and Medicine Wheel: Buzz
by John Kelman
On the fourth album with his group Medicine Wheel bassist Ben Allison continues to push the boundaries of structured music with a programme of six originals and one Beatles cover. With a straightforward sound that belies a richer complexity, Allison continues to present invention masked in simplicity, combining intelligence with emotional depth.
Buzz opens with Allison’s “Respiration,” a 9/4 piece that is insistent, with simple interweaving bass, piano and electric piano parts laying the groundwork for a snake-like horn theme ...
read moreBen Allison: Buzz
by Jim Santella
Ben Allison and Medicine Wheel have a history of going against the grain, with their provocative form of New York jazz. Allison has said that “a composition should create a landscape in which a musician can freely explore and find an individual voice.”
With its fourth release, however, Medicine Wheel turns collective and moves its circle closer to the center. Voices move together as one. Pleasant harmony and smooth rhythms support simple melodies. Their “New York buzz” ...
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Music
Mon Chéri
From: Cajun BleuBy Clark Gayton