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Gerald Clayton

Gerald was born on May 11, 1984 in Utrecht, The Netherlands and moved to the United States at a young age. He graduated from the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA) in the summer of 2002 and received a Bachelor's of Music from the Jazz Studies program at USC in the Fall of 2006.

Gerald grew up in a musical family (his father is bassist/composer John Clayton and his uncle saxophonist Jeff Clayton) and was exposed to a variety of musical styles from a very young age. He studied classical piano with Mrs. Linda Buck and jazz piano and composition with Shelly Berg, Kenny Barron and Billy Childs.

Gerald was the winner of the 2001 Music Center Spotlight Awards and received the 'Outstanding Soloist' Award during the Monterey High School Jazz Competition in 2001 and 2002. He was also selected for the Grammy High School Big Band, comprised of high school students from the entire United States. Gerald was presented with the "level 1" award by the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts (NFAA) in January of 2002. In the summer of 2002, he was named Presidential Scholar in the Arts and was asked to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. In June of 2002, Gerald performed at Steinway Hall in New York and was presented with a scholarship award by the Music for Youth Foundation. In September of 2002, Gerald received the Shelley Manne Award for emerging young artists from the Los Angeles Jazz Society. In September of 2006, Gerald received Second Place in the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute Jazz Piano Competition.

Despite his young age, Gerald has already performed extensively with numerous outstanding musicians in a wide variety of venues. Notable engagements include the performance of a composition for piano and orchestra with the Henry Mancini Orchestra at Royce Hall (August 2002) and Disney Hall (May 2006). The piece was composed by his father and commissioned by the Henry Mancini Institute for that purpose. In the spring of 2005, Gerald was asked to join pianists Benny Green, Mulgrew Miller and Kenny Barron for a series of duo concerts in Europe. He also performed with trumpeter Clark Terry in Switzerland later that year.

~~ TWO SHADE ~~ 2009 ~~

Rising star of postbop piano and a composer already making waves at the age of 25, Dutch born Gerald Clayton makes his thrilling debut for Emarcy with a set of sparkling originals that showcase both his command of the piano as well as his luminous mix of melody and improvisation. A quarter of the age of Jazz, Gerald Clayton stakes his claim in the history and the present of this vital music with the following words, "Tradition and innovation can peacefully coexist." In libraries and on drawing boards around the country this statement might be true, but with Gerald behind the piano this coexistence is anything but peaceful.

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5
Live Review

Gerald Clayton at Trinity University

Read "Gerald Clayton at Trinity University" reviewed by Katchie Cartwright


Gerald Clayton Trinity University / Ruth Taylor Hall San Antonio, TX November 7, 2023 Trinity University's Ruth Taylor Hall, with its intimate seating and warm wood-paneled acoustics, is a welcoming spot for a solo piano concert. Addressing the audience as he entered the stage, Gerald Clayton remarked on the geniality of the vibe. He was going try to catch some waves, he said, speaking metaphorically and as an ardent California surfer. Beginning quietly, almost tentatively, ...

5
Album Review

Vicente Archer: Short Stories

Read "Short Stories" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


Bassist Vicente Archer may be a Grammy winner with a long grand vintage (Nicholas Payton, John Scofield, Kenny Garrett, Norah Jones) but he has not revealed his own particular harvest as he does on the amicable and resilient Short Stories. Accompanied on what is technically his debut, fellow Scofield and Payton alum, drummer Bill Stewart and ever curious pianist Gerald Clayton bring to these stories a captivating, unified narrative. The soft, insistent tannins of “Mirai" opens Short Stories ...

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Album Review

Roberta Gambarini: Easy To Love

Read "Easy To Love" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci


In 2007, All About Jazz reviewer Michael Caratti wrote: “This debut outing from Roberta Gambarini sees the Italian-born jazz vocalist pair up with two star-studded rhythm sections and legendary tenor saxophonist James Moody, to present what has to be one of the best vocal jazz albums of the decade. Opening with Cole Porter's classic title track Gambarini's exquisite tone and masterful rhythmic phrasing are immediately on display in the first a capella section. The gradual addition of bass and brushes ...

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Radio & Podcasts

Summer Tree Ain't No Summer Breeze

Read "Summer Tree Ain't No Summer Breeze" reviewed by Patrick Burnette


It's the shock of the new as the boys take on three 2022 releases that stretch our heads in various directions, including a solo guitar outing, a visit to a mythical cave, and a trumpet excursion that goes to even stranger places. After that, a chill-out album from Blue Note is a welcome change of pace if nothing else. Pop matters delves into this year's edition of the Chicago Jazz Festival, so stay tuned. And watch out for those falling ...

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Album Review

Gerald Clayton: Bells On Sand

Read "Bells On Sand" reviewed by Chris May


It seems like an age since pianist Gerald Clayton's previous album, Happening: Live At The Village Vanguard (Blue Note, 2020), although it is actually only two years. But what traumatic years they were--and what an impact they have had on Clayton's new album. The Vanguard disc, recorded in spring 2019, was an often exuberant or otherwise intense affair, with saxophonists Logan Richardson and Walter Smith III, both of them capable of generating heat, featured on most of the ...

3
Album Review

Gretchen Parlato: Flor

Read "Flor" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Dopo un'assenza di sei anni dedicati alla maternità, Gretchen Parlato torna con un album magistrale per l'equilibrio che esprime tra ricercatezza, lirismo e intatta spinta a riformulare creativamente i brani. A capo di un nuovo organico--arricchito da Gerald Clayton al piano e tastiere, Mark Guiliana alla batteria e Airto Moreira alle percussioni e voce, in veste di ospiti--la cantante losangelina conferma in Flor la sua collocazione d'interprete assolutamente personale, che non può “temere" nulla dall'ingresso in scena delle splendide vocalist ...

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Album Review

Ben Wendel: High Heart

Read "High Heart" reviewed by Mike Jacobs


If Ben Wendel's fifth outing as a leader High Heart shows anything, it's that the saxophonist is ever advancing. While this may seem a fait accompli for a card-carrying member of the shapeshifting collective Kneebody, Wendel's worthy solo efforts have been notably more in a traditionally-sounding vein and thus his innovations were perhaps a bit less readily evident to ears acclimated to that other side of his resume. And yes, by comparison to Kneebody, High Heart still tacks toward a ...

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3

Recording

Motema Music Presents Ben Wendel - What We Bring - Featuring Gerald Clayton, Joe Sanders & Henry Cole

Motema Music Presents Ben Wendel - What We Bring - Featuring Gerald Clayton, Joe Sanders & Henry Cole

Source: Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity

Motema Music Presents Ben Wendel—What We Bring Featuring Gerald Clayton, Joe Sanders & Henry Cole What We Bring is Wendel's Debut for Motema Music & Will Be Available September 9, 2016 What We Bring—CD Release Tour Sept 14- Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, NYC- 7:30 & 9:30 PM Sept 15- The Regattabar, Cambridge, MA- 7:30 PM Sept 16- Firehouse 12, New Haven, CT Sept 17- Chris' Jazz Cafe, Philadelphia. PA Sept 19- University of ...

Recording

Matt Slocum, Black Elk's Dream Available April 1, 2014 On Chandra Records Featuring Walter Smith III, Dayna Stephens, Gerald Clayton And Massimo Biolcati

Matt Slocum, Black Elk's Dream Available April 1, 2014 On Chandra Records Featuring Walter Smith III, Dayna Stephens, Gerald Clayton And Massimo Biolcati

Source: Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity

US Tour April 3-10, NYC record release performance: April 24 at The Kitano Black Elk's Dream, drummer/composer Matt Slocum's most adventurous and visceral recording to date, features eleven new original works as well as Pat Metheny's “Is This America?". Inspired by the visionary Native American leader Black Elk and the book Black Elk Speaks, Slocum composed and arranged the project for an innovative cast of longtime friends and creative associates including saxophonists Walter Smith III & Dayna Stephens, pianist Gerald ...

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Performance / Tour

Jazz This Week: Dan Hicks, John Clayton and Gerald Clayton, Lotte Anker Trio, Danny Fox, and More

Jazz This Week: Dan Hicks, John Clayton and Gerald Clayton, Lotte Anker Trio, Danny Fox, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

With a bit of spring in the air this week in St. Louis, there's also plenty of live jazz and creative music happening around town to get out and enjoy over the next few days. Let's go to the highlights... Tonight, singer-guitarist Dan Hicks returns to the St. Louis area for a performance at the Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville.  Hicks' mix of Gyspy jazz, swing, country, blues and folk has been entertaining audiences for nearly fifty years now, and continue ...

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Event

Columbus Jazz Orchestra Opens 2012-13 Swingin' With The CJO Season With Come Together: From Gershwin To The Beatles Featuring Gerald Clayton

Columbus Jazz Orchestra Opens 2012-13 Swingin' With The CJO Season With Come Together: From Gershwin To The Beatles Featuring Gerald Clayton

Source: Scott Vezdos

Columbus, OH – Under the direction of world-renowned band leader and trumpet virtuoso Byron Stripling, the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, now in its 40th year, continues to break new ground while honoring the rich heritage of America's classical music – jazz. The Jazz Arts Group of Columbus (JAG) kicks off the 2012-13 Swingin' with the CJO season with “Come Together: From Gershwin to the Beatles" (October 25-28 at the Southern Theatre). Join the CJO for a magical mystery tour of the ...

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Performance / Tour

Gerald Clayton and Tamir Hendelman Will Play One for the Kids (at Moka) Next Sunday

Gerald Clayton and Tamir Hendelman Will Play One for the Kids (at Moka) Next Sunday

Source: Jazz@Rochester

Jazz pianists Gerald Clayton and Tamir Hendelman will be in Rochester for the first benefit concert for Rochester's Museum of Kids Art—A Duet for MoKA, next Sunday, January 22, at 5:00 pm. The concert will be at Hochstein Performance Hall at 50 N. Plymouth Ave., in Rochester. Presented by Exodus to Jazz, proceeds from this event will help fund a new jazz education program at MoKA that begins this month. There will also be a special opening performance by Madrigalia Chamber Choir under ...

233

Recording

Gerald Clayton - Bond, the Paris Sessions (2011)

Gerald Clayton - Bond, the Paris Sessions (2011)

Source: Something Else!

Like Joshua Redman, Ravi Coltrane, Anthony Wilson and all those Marsalis brothers, Gerald Clayton followed in his father's footsteps to become an accomplished jazz musician in his own right. The son of bassist John Clayton and nephew of saxophonist Jeff Clayton, Gerald studied classical piano from the age of 6 all through high school before enrolling at jazz studies at the University of Southern California. While there, he's studied under Billy Childs, Kenny Barron and Shelly Berg. He has gotten ...

172

Interview

Hot Young Pianist Gerald Clayton Born into Jazz Experience

Hot Young Pianist Gerald Clayton Born into Jazz Experience

Source: JazzStage.net

Many of today's top jazz artists adopted the music after being turned on by a great album, concert, or learning experience. Pianist Gerald Clayton was born into it. His father, bassist and arranger John Clayton, played in the Count Basie Orchestra before co-founding the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra “I was exposed to the lifestyle behind the music," says Clayton. “I saw a lot of sound checks and rehearsals and grown men showing each other so much love, just for the music."At ...

56

Performance / Tour

Grammy Nominee Gerald Clayton and His Trio Coming to the Exodus to Jazz Stage February 12th

Grammy Nominee Gerald Clayton and His Trio Coming to the Exodus to Jazz Stage February 12th

Source: Jazz@Rochester

Grammy nominee Gerald Clayton comes to Rochester to play a concert in the Exodus to Jazz series with his Trio of bassist Joe Sanders and drummer Justin Brown. The Trio will take the stage at 8:00 pm on February 12th at ETJ's new digs, the Reformation Lutheran Church on Chestnut in downtown Rochester, one of the great venues during the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival. Born in the Netherlands in 1984, Clayton grew up mostly in Los Angeles in a ...

273

Performance / Tour

13th Annual Spirit of Jazz Concert Series Hosted by Oris Watches and WBGO - Jazz 88.3 FM Celebrates the Pianists

13th Annual Spirit of Jazz Concert Series Hosted by Oris Watches and WBGO - Jazz 88.3 FM Celebrates the Pianists

Source: OUTHOUSE pr

ORIS Watches and Tourneau, the worlds largest watch store, in conjunction with WBGO - Jazz 88.3 FM, are paying homage to jazz legends and bringing some of the greatest jazz acts to busy midtown Manhattan for the 13th consecutive year.

Gerald Clayton Trio will perform a free, lunchtime concert highlighting the music of great jazz pianists such as Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Erroll Garner and Thelonious Monk.

A retrospective exhibit accompanies the live music concert that showcases rare and never-before-seen ...

90

Interview

Gerald Clayton Supposes Tradition and Innovation Can Peacefully Exist

Gerald Clayton Supposes Tradition and Innovation Can Peacefully Exist

Source: JamaicaMusic Offbeat

At one-forth the age of jazz, New York based jazz pianist Gerald Clayton stakes his claim in the history and the present of jazz. “Tradition and innovation can peacefully exist", supposes the son of famous bassist John Clayton. However, his biography states, 'with Gerald behind the piano this coexistence anything but peaceful.' 'His dynamic and award-winning sound has been praised in print by the Jazz Times and Los Angeles Times. The New York Times has saluted his ...

"At a time when jazz piano prodigies are moving into the spotlight around the world… Clayton is showing all the signs of becoming one of the most significant young jazz artists to emerge in the Southland in recent years." —Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times

Photos

Concerts

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Short Stories

Cellar Live
2023

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Bells On Sand

Blue Note Records
2022

buy

Flor

Edition Records
2021

buy

High Heart

Edition Records
2020

buy

Tributary Tales

Motéma Music
2017

buy

Soul Brothers

ArtistShare
2016

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Videos

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