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The talented father and son duo of bassist John Clayton and pianist Gerald Clayton will together perform an evening of intimate jazz. Grammy award winning bassist John Clayton has appeared on over 60 recordings. Known for taking on many different projects, John is a creative composer, arranger, conductor, producer, educator, and multi-band leader who has received 8 Grammy nominations with artists like Diana Krall, Paul McCartney, Regina Carter, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Gladys Knight, Queen Latifah, and Charles Aznavour. Clayton began playing bass in elementary school, played in string instrument classes in junior orchestra, and in high school played in jazz band, orchestra, and soul and r&b groups. At 16 John enrolled in Ray Brown’s Jazz class at UCLA and had a close relationship with him over 3 decades. He continued his education, graduating from Indiana University’s School of Music. One of Clayton’s first professional jobs was to play on Henry Mancini’s T.V. series, The Mancini Generation. Next, John toured with both Monty Alexander and Count Basie for 3 years each, became the principal bassist with the Amsterdam Philharmonic in the Netherlands, and taught bass at the Royal Conservatory, the Hague in Holland for 4 years. From there, Clayton co-founded the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra with Jeff Hamilton, rekindled the Clayton Brothers Band, and taught bass at Cal St. Long Beach, UCLA, and at USC for over 20 years. John conducts clinics, workshops, and has been the artistic director for the Lionel Hampton Festival, the Centrum Festival, the Vail Jazz Party, the Sarasota Jazz Festival, the Santa Fe Jazz Party, the Port Townsend Summer Workshop, Jazz for the L.A. Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, and served as past President of the International Society of Bassists. Clayton arranged the Star Spangled Banner for Whitney Houston’s Platinum Winning 1990 Super Bowl performance, played on Paul McCartney’s CD Kisses on the Bottom, recorded with Yo-Yo Ma and Friends on Songs of Joy and Peace, and has composed, arranged, played, and recorded with Charles Aznavour and the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, the Clayton Brothers Band, Diana Krall, Milt Jackson, Monty Alexander, Carmen McRae, Nancy Wilson, Joe Williams, Ernestine Anderson, Quincy Jones, Bill Cunliffe, Terrell Stafford, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Natalie Cole, Till Bronner, the Tonight Show Band, and numerous artists. John won a Grammy Award for the Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist for Queen Latifah’s I’m Gonna Live Till I Die, and received a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for the Clayton Brother’s Brother to Brother.

Pianist, composer, and bandleader Gerald Clayton has received 4 Grammy nominations. Gerald attended L.A. High School for the Arts and received the Presidential Scholar of the Arts Award. He studied with NEA Jazz Master Kenny Barron at the Manhattan School of Music, received his degree at USC under the music instruction of Billy Childs, and won 2nd place at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Piano Competition. Clayton plays with honest expression, harmonic curiosity, critical awareness, developing musical narrative from bold, deliberate searching, and chance uncovering. Gerald’s expansive artistic identity celebrates the inherent differences in musical perspectives that promote true artistic synergy. Clayton has performed and recorded with Diana Krall, Roy Hargrove, Dianne Reeves, Ambrose Akinmusire, Dayna Stephens, Kendrick Scott, John Scofield, Ben Williams, Terrell Stafford, Dick Oatts, Michael Rodriguez, Terri Lyne Carrington, Avishai Cohen, Peter Bernstein, the Clayton Brothers, and Charles Lloyd. Gerald served as the musical director of the Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour with Ravi Coltrane, Nicholas Payton, Terrence Blanchard, and Raul Midon. Gerald has apprenticed with his father John and has honored him and his musical ancestors through a commitment to artistic exploration, innovation, and reinvention. Clayton has recorded 4 albums as a leader, and has appeared on 40 recordings to date. Gerald’s own group has performed a live presentation of the Piedmont Blues, a celebration of 20th century song and dance from the famed Tobacco area of Durham, North Carolina that is a mixture of ragtime, finger picking guitar, and folk music and blues.

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