John Clayton (bassist)


John Lee Clayton Jr. is an American jazz musician, classical double bassist, arranger, and composer.
He is the father of pianist Gerald Clayton and the brother of saxophonist Jeff Clayton, with whom he formed the Clayton Brothers; and the Clayton–Hamilton Jazz Orchestra with Jeff Hamilton.
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Music

Clayton began his bass career in elementary school playing in strings class, junior orchestra, high school jazz band, orchestra, and soul/R&B groups. In 1969, at the age of 16, he enrolled in Ray Brown’s jazz class at UCLA, beginning a close relationship that lasted more than three decades. Three years later, he was bassist on the Henry Mancini's television series The Mancini Generation. In 1975, he graduated from Indiana University 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. After five years he returned to the U.S. for a break from the classical genre and, in 1985, co-founded the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra with his brother, saxophonist Jeff Clayton, and drummer Jeff Hamilton. He also performed in a duo as the Clayton Brothers with musicians such as Bill Cunliffe and Terell Stafford.
He has been Artistic Director for the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, Sarasota Jazz Festival, Santa Fe Jazz Party, Jazz Port Townsend Summer Workshop from 2004 to 2024, Jazz at Centrum, and Vail Jazz Workshop. From 1999 to 2001, he was the Artistic Director of Jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic program at the Hollywood Bowl. He conducted the All-Alaska Jazz Band. He has taught at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music and has served as president of the International Society of Bassists.
He has composed and arranged for the Count Basie Orchestra, Diana Krall, Whitney Houston, Carmen McRae, Nancy Wilson, Joe Williams, Ernestine Anderson, Quincy Jones, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Natalie Cole, Till Bronner, and the Tonight Show Band.
In 2006, his son Gerald Clayton came in second at the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition.

Awards

In 2007, Clayton won a Grammy Award for Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist for the song "I'm Gonna Live Till I Die" by Queen Latifah. In December 2009, Brother to Brother by the Clayton Brothers received a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group.

Discography

As leader or co-leader

With the Clayton Brothers
  • 1991 The Music
  • 1997 Expressions
  • 2000 Siblingity
  • 2005 Back in the Swing of Things
  • 2008 Brother to Brother
  • 2010 The New Song and Dance
  • 2012 The Gathering
  • 2015 Soul Brothers
With Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra

As guest

With Monty Alexander
  • 1976 Live! Montreux
  • 1983 Reunion in Europe
  • 1983 The Duke Ellington Songbook
  • 1985 The River Monty
  • 1986 Li'l Darlin
With Milt Jackson
  • 1977 Soul Fusion
  • 1993 Reverence and Compassion
  • 1988 Bebop
  • 1994 The Prophet Speaks
With Diana Krall
With others