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Jim Clayton
Pianist and vocalist Jim Clayton hails from Sarnia, Ontario (Canada’s “Chemical Valley”). Born in 1967, he was the oldest of four children, with a chemist father and a stay-at-home mom who later became a terminal-unit chaplain and author of books on grief.
At age three he showed an interest in the neighbours’ piano, so his mother and a musician friend bartered babysitting for piano lessons. The friend quickly recommended Jim study with a professional, which led to several years of studying classical piano, theory and harmony through the Royal Conservatory of Music.
He spent grades five and six in Louisiana, when his father’s work took the family to Baton Rouge. School field trips led to Jim encountering jazz in its birthplace of New Orleans. When he expressed interest in the music, his piano teacher introduced him to ragtime piano, which laid some of the left-hand groundwork he’d need later. At school, he took up clarinet in grade five, and viola in grade six. Neither instrument stuck.
Jim took a break from piano studies after grade nine, but music stayed a huge part of his life. He performed on alto sax (poorly) in the school band, DJ’d school dances, taught piano at Diane MacKillop’s School of Music, and borrowed a synth to play in a battle-of-the-bands competition with other teachers from the school.
After several short-lived retail jobs and a lot of DJ’ing in nightclubs, Jim enrolled in Lambton College’s Radio, TV and Journalism program. Within two semesters, he was working as a reporter and photographer for the Sarnia Gazette; a year after that, he was hired as a radio announcer and producer at CHOK Radio, where he co-hosted the market’s top-rated weekend morning show, and became adept at splicing tape with razor blades.
While at CHOK, a radio campaign in support of the Gulf War troops was in need of an instrumental version of Bette Midler’s From A Distance. Unable to find one, Jim took recording equipment to his friend’s piano store and recorded one himself. After hearing the results, the station staff began encouraging him to pursue music professionally.
Jim was accepted into Humber’s Jazz and Commercial Music program in 1991, where he quickly moved his focus from commercial to jazz, and supported himself by busking in subway stations. Teachers and fellow students introduced Jim to the artists he’d listen to for years to come: Miles Davis, Wynton Kelly, Chick Corea, Bill Evans, Mulgrew Miller, Benny Green, and Oscar Peterson.
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Jim Clayton: Songs My Daughter Knows
by Dan Bilawsky
Pianist Jim Clayton must have one hip daughter; or perhaps it's the other way around. Regardless, both parties clearly inspire one another through music. On the simply-and-directly titled Songs My Daughter Knows, Clayton explores the musical ins-and-outs of the first three years spent with his cherished child--Eileen Agnes Lenny" Clayton. The album opens on the fairly obscure, Sesame Street-connected Grouch Anthem." After hearing this performance, it's hard to understand why the song isn't a favorite among the ...
read moreJim Clayton's Greenhouse: Muskoka
by Jim Santella
Jim Clayton's ensemble has the same instrumental make-up as several editions of The Yellowjackets, and the first track, Full Yellow Jacket," incorporates elements of Yellowjackets arranging as well. But the Greenhouse incorporates a wide range of styles in its arrangements and the quartet allows room for each of its members to speak out. Pat Wheeler holds the lead voice, and with her fluid saxophone tone is able to achieve distinct moods for the varied compositions. Leader and pianist Clayton speaks ...
read moreLook Out - The Vocal Debut From Award-Winning Jazz Pianist Jim Clayton Featuring Herlin Riley And Amina Scott - Release Date: October 3rd
Source:
Scott Thompson Public Relations
"Clayton can swing the daylights out of anything... But he has a different, more expansive definition of Great American Songbook. It's a refreshing concept. I hope more 21st century artists follow." From the liner notes by Ricky Riccardi, 2022 Grammy Winner Blend the piano styles of Nat “King" Cole, Harry Connick, Jr. and Bob Dorough, and add the vocal sound of Bobby Troup, and voila. You've got Jim Clayton. Clayton started the 2020 lockdowns as an award-winning Canadian jazz instrumentalist. ...
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