Gerald Clayton

Gerald Clayton ( born May 11, 1984 in Utrecht) is an American jazz pianist and composer of the jazz mainstream.

Life and work

Clayton is the son of bassist John Clayton and the nephew of alto saxophonist and flutist Jeff Clayton. He grew up in California and studied from the age of seven years classical piano and later jazz piano with Donald Vega, Billy Childs, Shelly Berg, and Kenny Barron at the Manhattan School of Music. In 2002 he graduated from the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts ( with honors, he received the Presidential Scholar of the Arts School ) and received in the same year the Shelly Manne Award for emerging artists of the Los Angeles Jazz Society. In 2006, he received his bachelor's degree in jazz from the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California ( where his father was one of the teachers ). In the same year he finished second in the competition of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Piano (first Tigran Hamasyan was ) and moved to New York City.

Clayton lists among his influences alongside his father Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Monty Alexander and Benny Green ( with Green and Barron, he played even in a duo ). He played with the Clayton Brothers and the Clayton - Hamilton Jazz Orchestra (both with Jeff Clayton ), played with his father, John Clayton and has its own Gerald Clayton Trio ( with Joe Sanders, bass, Justin Brown, drums). He toured in 2006 and 2007 with the Roy Hargrove Quintet and the Big Band and performs regularly at the Jazz Gallery in New York on his own compositions ( partially commissioned by the Jazz Gallery composes ). His compositions have also been played by the BBC Orchestra. In 2009, he stepped on the Piano Festival Ruhr in Bochum and 2008 at the Umbria Jazz Festival.

He accompanied Diana Krall ( Album From This Moment on, Christmas Songs ), Michael Bublé ( Call me irresponsible ) and Roberta Gambarini ( album Easy to Love ).

In 2011 he received the Edison Jazz Award for best international jazz musicians ( for his album Bond: The Paris Sessions, EmArcy, with Trio) and played at the North Sea Jazz Festival with his trio.

2010 his composition Battle Circle was nominated for a Grammy Award and 2009 his solo on All of You ( Cole Porter) on his debut album Two Shade ( EmArcy, with his trio ) in the Best Improvised Jazz Solo division. 2008 he was inducted into the reader polls of Down Beat in the list of promising young talents.