John Clayton (bassist)
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- This article is about the bassist. For other persons with the same name see John Clayton (disambiguation).
John Clayton.
John Clayton, Jr. is a Grammy-winning American jazz and classical bassist.
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[edit] 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 world-renowned Royal Concertgebouw 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, and Vail Jazz Workshop. He also teaches at University of Southern California and presides as president over the 1,500 member International 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 the Tonight Show Band.
