- John Clayton (bassist)
Infobox musical artist
Name = John Clayton
Img_capt =Jiggs Whigham and John Clayton, Otter Crest, Oregon. May 1989. Photo courtesy of theFraser MacPherson estate
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Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name = John Clayton, Jr.
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Origin =USA
Instrument =Double bass
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Genre =Jazz , Classical music
Occupation =Double bassist , Classical bassist
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Label =Verve Records
Associated_acts =Diana Krall ,Quincy Jones ,Jessica Molaskey ,John Pizzarelli
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Notable_instruments =John Clayton, Jr. is a
Grammy -winning Americanjazz and classicaldouble 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 inAmsterdam ,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 theClayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra with his saxophonist brotherJeff 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 asTerell Stafford .From 1999 to 2001 he served as Artistic Director of the Jazz for the
Los Angeles Philharmonic program at theHollywood Bowl and has also conducted the All-Alaska Jazz Band.He currently serves as Artistic Director for the
Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival ["Seattle Times ": [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/musicnightlife/2003094727_hampton30.html "Hampton fest gets new director"] ] ,Sarasota Jazz Festival ,Santa Fe Jazz Party , andVail Jazz Workshop . He also teaches atUniversity of Southern California and presides as president over the 1,500 memberInternational Bassist Association .He has composed and/or arranged for such notable artists as
Diana Krall ,Whitney Houston ,Carmen McRae , Nancy Wilson, Joe Williams,Ernestine Anderson ,Quincy Jones ,Dee Dee Bridgewater ,Natalie Cole , and theTonight Show Band .His son,
Gerald Clayton , is an accomplished jazz pianist, placing second the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition in 2006.ee also
*
List of jazz bassists External links
* [http://www.johnclaytonjazz.com/ Official site]
* [http://www.johnclaytonjazz.com/press/JClayton_bio.html Official biography]
* [http://www.hopper-management.com/jc_bio_e.htm BH Hopper biography]
* [http://www.hamiltonjazz.com/ Clayton-Hamilton Jazz]References
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