Jay Clayton

Jay Clayton ( born October 28, 1941 in Youngstown, Ohio, as Judith Colantone ) is an internationally renowned American vocalist between jazz and new music.

Life and work

After graduating from Miami University in Oxford ( Ohio), she came to New York City, where she took private lessons with musicians such as Steve Lacy. With her ​​then- husband, percussionist Frank Clayton, they are already organized in 1967 Loftkonzerte on which they came into contact with Sam Rivers, Cecil McBee, Joanne Brackeen, Dave Liebman, Jeanne Lee, Bob Moses John Gilmore and Jane Getz. Even then, Clayton began to be recognized as an avant-garde singer because of their ability to voicing. She was among the first singers who entered poems and Electronics in their improvisations, and has also presented excellent interpretations of compositions by John Cage. She was also a longtime member of the ensemble of minimalist composer Steve Reich.

Already in 1971, led by Clayton first workshops, partly in collaboration with Jeanne Lee. Then you worked with Muhal Richard Abrams, but also with the groups of John Fischer and Byron Morris. Later she is also starring Kirk Nurock, Stanley Cowell, the String Trio of New York, Lee Konitz, Bud Shank, Charlie Haden and Fred Hersch occurred and was 1981/82 on the Vocal Summit with Jeanne Lee, Lauren Newton, Urszula Dudziak, and Bobby McFerrin involved. She published her own groups as Jay Clayton Project and interacts with other singers, under the title Different Voices. With drummer Jerry Granelli and the saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom, it occurs in a trio Outskirts. She is involved in numerous boards and CD productions.

Clayton served as artistic director of the first Women in Jazz Festival, the Cobi Narita produced in 1979. She has worked as a consultant for the television series Women in Jazz (ABC), from 1981 to 2001 taught at the Clayton Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, where she worked among others with Jim Knapp; in addition, she worked at the University for Music and Performing Arts Graz, the Cologne University of Music and the University of the Arts Berlin. Together with Sheila Jordan, they are many years workshops. In 2001 she published her book Sing Your Story, the two other textbooks followed. Since 2001 she lives again mainly in New York and is part of the Faculty of the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University.

Publications

  • Jay Clayton: Sing Your Story: A Practical Guide for Learning and Teaching the Art of Jazz Singing Advance Music 2001
  • Jay Clayton: Jazz Vocal Practice Series Vol 1 Advance Music
  • Jay Clayton: Jazz Vocal Practice Series Vol 2 - Vamps and Blues - Practice improvisation. Advance Music

Lexigraphischer entry

  • Martin Kunzler jazz lexicon. Volume 1 Reinbek 2002
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