John Clayton

John Clayton
Jiggs Whigham and John Clayton, Otter Crest, Oregon. May 1989. Photo courtesy of the Fraser MacPherson estate
Background information
Birth name	John Clayton, Jr.
Origin	USA
Genres	Jazz, Classical music
Occupations	Double bassist, Classical bassist
Instruments	Double bass
Labels	Verve Records
Associated acts	Diana Krall, Quincy Jones, Jessica Molaskey, John Pizzarelli

John Clayton, Jr. is a Grammy-winning American jazz and classical double bassist.

Music

John Clayton began seriously undertaking the study of double bass at age 16, studying with bass legend Ray Brown. By age 19, he had become a bassist on Henry Mancini's television series The Mancini Generation and later graduated in 1975 from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music with a degree in bass performance.

He went on to tour with the Monty Alexander Trio and the Count Basie Orchestra before taking the position of principal bass in the Amsterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in Amsterdam, Netherlands. However, after five years he returned back to the U.S. for a break in the classical genre to work more towards jazz and jazz composition. He soon founded the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra with his saxophonist brother Jeff Clayton and drummer Jeff Hamilton. He and his brother also founded the Clayton Brothers Jazz Quintet which features both John and Jeff Clayton, but also noted insturmentalists such as Terell Stafford.

From 1999 to 2001 he served as Artistic Director of the Jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic program at the Hollywood Bowl and has also conducted the All-Alaska Jazz Band.

He currently serves as Artistic Director for the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival^[1], Sarasota Jazz Festival, Santa Fe Jazz Party, Jazz Port Townsend Summer Workshop^[2], and Vail Jazz Workshop. He also teaches at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music and presides as president over the 1,500 member International Bassist Association.

He has composed and/or arranged for such notable artists as The Count Basie Orchestra, Diana Krall, Whitney Houston, Carmen McRae, Nancy Wilson, Joe Williams, Ernestine Anderson, Quincy Jones, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Natalie Cole, and the Tonight Show Band.

His son, Gerald Clayton, is an accomplished jazz pianist, placing second in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition in 2006.

See also

• List of jazz bassists

External links

• Official site
• Official biography
• BH Hopper biography
• Clayton-Hamilton Jazz

References

1. ^ Seattle Times: "Hampton fest gets new director"
2. ^ Jazz at Centrum: "Artistic Director: John Clayton"