Six-time GRAMMY-nominated jazz pianist Gerald Clayton performs a free in-person concert at Tateuchi Hall on Saturday, December 3 at 7:30pm. Clayton will perform compositions from his recent album along with works from some of the jazz greats!
We spoke with Gerald Clayton to learn more about him and what the audience can expect from his performance at Tateuchi Hall.
Gerald Clayton, pianist
Tell us about your early experiences learning, playing and performing music.
I grew up in a musical family. My father, John Clayton is a great bass player, composer and arranger, and my uncle Jeff Clayton, who passed two years ago, was a great saxophonist and multi-reedist. I was around music and the musical community at a really young age. I remember being a kid and seeing these grown men and women always laughing, giving each other hugs, telling jokes, sound checks and rehearsals. There was always this energy of positivity and love that definitely stuck with me early on. The work ethic of my dad and uncle had a profound effect on me. They were really diligent workers who were dedicated to their craft and constantly putting work in. It was definitely a labor of love and joyful energy surrounding the music. I got into the music by just being around it.
I started playing piano at around age six and stuck with it. I played trombone for a little bit in junior high and my first year of high school just to be in the school band, but piano was my thing all along. The best thing you can do for a young kid is to play a lot of music and have their ears soak up the sounds. The instrument part is definitely work too, but if you play a lot of music for them their ears will be musician ears before you know it.
What are your most important influences and sources of musical inspiration?
My first love on the piano was a guy named Oscar Peterson, an absolute legend. From there I found all of the big players: Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, McCoy Tyner, Brad Mehldau, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, all the way back to Art Tatum. You end up like an archeologist digging and digging for more and finding more stuff. That is part of the process and what influences me.
The other part is all the musicians that I am really lucky to play with and learn from. My contemporaries Joe Sanders and Justin Brown were in my trio for many years and I learned so much from them. I also have an immense amount of respect for Ambrose Akinmusire, Dana Stevens, Logan Richardson, Walter Smith III and Gretchen Parlato. There is a whole great big community of musicians that I’m lucky to surround myself with. These are the big, immediate influences.
The rest of my inspiration comes from life–all the stuff that moves us as humans–nature, love, laughter and good things. Art is just a human expression of life, so all of those things outside of the notes and beats are what is behind all of the creation.
What lessons did you learn from your father, bass player and composer John Clayton?
The biggest lesson I learned was to do it for the music and to let everything else take care of itself. There’s a classic saying, “Take care of the music and the music will take care of you.” That was the north star or credo of our family and it still is. We don’t do this for any kind of money or accolades, it’s a calling to serve the music as best as we can and wake up the next day and be inspired to try to discover new things. If you really commit yourself to that in that pure and honest way, everything else comes along for the ride. Money and accolades are wonderful, but the feeling of learning a song that five minutes before you didn’t know is the biggest reward. Although I have multiple GRAMMY nominations, they really do pale in comparison to the music itself. The big lesson is to do it for the music.
What can the audience expect during your performance in Tateuchi Hall?
They can expect to experience music from my previous records, along with the standards and compositions from other greats. I try to serve the music and do so with honesty, playing in the moment and having musical conversations on stage.
