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Gerald Clayton

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gerald Clayton
Background information
Born (1984-05-11) May 11, 1984 (age 42)
Utrecht, Netherlands
OriginLos Angeles, California, United States
GenresJazz
OccupationMusician
InstrumentPiano
Years active2003–present
LabelsArtistShare
EmArcy
Concord
Motéma
Verve
Blue Note
Websitewww.geraldclayton.com

Gerald William Clayton (born May 11, 1984) is a Dutch-born American jazz pianist and composer.

Biography

[edit]

Clayton attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts; USC's Thornton School of Music, where he studied piano with Billy Childs; and the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Kenny Barron.[1][2]

He has performed and recorded with Roy Hargrove, Diana Krall, Ben Wendel, Dianne Reeves, Terri Lyne Carrington, Ambrose Akinmusire, Dayna Stephens, Kendrick Scott, Ben Williams, Terell Stafford & Dick Oatts, Michael Rodriguez, Avishai Cohen, Sachal Vasandani, Gretchen Parlato, and the Clayton Brothers Quintet. Clayton has also enjoyed an extended association with saxophone legend, Charles Lloyd,[3] both touring and recording with Lloyd since early 2013.

Clayton's work has received numerous Grammy nominations.[4] In 2012 and 2013, he received Grammy nominations for The Paris Sessions (Concord) and Life Forum (Concord). In 2010, he was nominated for Best Instrumental Composition for "Battle Circle", which is featured on the Clayton Brothers album, New Song and Dance. In 2009, he was nominated for Best Improvised Jazz Solo for his solo on Cole Porter's "All of You" from his debut album, Two-Shade.

Clayton plays piano with his father, John Clayton,[5] and uncle, Jeff Clayton,[6] on the Clayton Brothers' 2009 album Brother to Brother, which received a Grammy nomination in the Best Jazz Instrumental Album category.[7] The album holds loosely to a theme of songs that were made famous by Thad, Hank and Elvin Jones and other brother groups in jazz.[7] Clayton's piano playing on this album was described by Ben Ratliff of The New York Times as "[filling] up the available space" with Clayton "busying himself with prettiness and authority...If you've listened to much hard bop or mainstream jazz of the early '60s, you might find some easygoing clichés in his playing – or maybe even an awful lot of them – but they are smoothly rendered. More important, the friendly rhetoric of this music allows them."[8]

Clayton has served as Musical Director of the Monterey Jazz Festival On Tour,[9] and as Director of the Monterey Jazz Next Generation Jazz Orchestra.[10]

Discography

[edit]

Studio albums

[edit]
List of studio albums with details and chart positions
Title Details Peak chart positions
US
Jazz
[11]		 US
Trad.
Jazz
[12]
Two-Shade ——
Bond: The Paris Sessions
  • Released: 2011[14]
  • Label: EmArcy
  • Format: CD, digital download, streaming
 2512
Life Forum
  • Released: 2013[15]
  • Label: Concord
  • Format: CD, digital download, streaming
 139
Tributary Tales
  • Released: April 21, 2017[16]
  • Label: Motéma
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download, streaming
Bells On Sand
  • Released: April 1, 2022[17]
  • Label: Blue Note
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download, streaming
Ones & Twos
  • Released: April 11, 2025[18]
  • Label: Blue Note
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download, streaming
Ones & Twos: Expanded Edition
  • Released: May 30, 2025[19]
  • Label: Blue Note
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download, streaming

Collaborative albums

[edit]
List of collaborative albums with details and chart positions
Title Details Peak chart positions
US
Jazz
[20]		 US
Trad.
Jazz
[21]
Reverence
(Kendrick Scott featuring Walter Smith, Gerald Clayton, Mike Moreno, and Derrick Hodge)
  • Released: August 13, 2009
  • Label: Criss Cross
  • Format: CD, digital download, streaming
 ——
While We're Still Young
(Patrick Cornelius featuring Gerald Clayton, Jason Palmer, John Ellis, Kendrick Scott, Miles Okazaki, Nick Vayenas, and Peter Slavov)
  • Released: February 12, 2016
  • Label: Whirlwind
  • Format: CD, digital download, streaming
 ——
Let Loose
(Peter Bernstein featuring Gerald Clayton, Doug Weiss, and Bill Stewart)
  • Released: May 6, 2016
  • Label: Smoke Sessions
  • Format: CD, digital download, streaming
 2010
Songs and Photographs
(Anthony Wilson featuring Gerald Clayton, Jay Bellerose, Joshua Crumbly, and Patrick Warren)
  • Released: December 7, 2018
  • Label: Goat Hill
  • Format: CD, digital download, streaming
 ——
Sanctuary
(with Matt Slocum and Larry Grenadier)
  • Released: May 31, 2019
  • Label: Sunnyside
  • Format: CD, digital download, streaming
 ——
Short Stories

(Vincente Archer featuring Gerald Clayton and Bill Stewart)
  • Released: June 9, 2023[22]
  • Label: Cellar Music
  • Format: CD, digital download, streaming
Motion I

(Out Of/Into featuring Matt Brewer, Gerald Clayton, Joel Ross, Kendrick Scott, and Immanuel Wilkins)
  • Released: December 6, 2024[23]
  • Label: Blue Note
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download, streaming

Live albums

[edit]
List of live albums with details and chart positions
Title Details
Happening: Live at The Village Vanguard
  • Released: July 10, 2020[24]
  • Label: Blue Note
  • Format: CD, digital download, streaming

Singles

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As lead artist

[edit]
List of singles as lead artist with year and album name
Title Year Album
"Lift Every Voice and Sing"
(with Preservation Hall Jazz Band)		 2021 Music from the Movie MLK/FBI
"Theme from MLK/FBI"
(with Preservation Hall Jazz Band)
"If It Was"

(with Gretchen Parlato, Alan Hampton, & John Clayton)

 2025 —
[edit]
List of singles as featured artist with year and album name
Title Year Album
"Smooth and You"
(Ralph Johnson featuring Gerald Clayton)		 2020 N/a
"Hourglass Sea"
(Sachal Vasandani featuring Gerald Clayton)		 2020 N/a

Guest appearances

[edit]
List of non-single guest appearances, showing year released, other artist(s) featured, and album name
Title Year Other artist(s) Album
"Listen Here" 2013 Jackie Ryan Listen Here

Piano credits

[edit]
Year Artist Title
2023 Vicente Archer Short Stories
2020 Charles Lloyd 8: Kindred Spirits (Live from the Lobero)
2018 John Scofield Combo 66
2016 Peter Bernstein Let Loose
2016 Ben Wendel What We Bring
2015 Matthew Stevens Woodwork
2013 Terri Lyne Carrington Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue
2011 Ambrose Akinmusire When the Heart Emerges Glistening
2010 Dick Oatts & Terell Stafford Quintet Bridging the Gap
2009 Melissa Morgan Until I Met You
2009 Roy Hargrove Emergence
2008 Roy Hargrove Earfood
2006 Diana Krall From This Moment On
2006 Diana Krall Christmas Songs
2006 Roberta Gambarini Easy to Love
2005 Laura Welland Dissertation on the State of Bliss
2004 Teedra Moses Complex Simplicity
2003 Bobby Rodriguez Trumpet Talk

Awards and nominations

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Year Association Category Work Result Reference
2011 Edison Awards Best International Jazz Album Bond: The Paris Sessions Won [citation needed]
2009 Grammy Awards Best Improvised Jazz Solo "All of You" (Cole Porter) Nominated [25]
2010 Best Instrumental Composition "Battle Circle" Nominated
2011 Best Jazz Instrumental Album Bond: The Paris Sessions Nominated
2013 Life Forum Nominated
2020 Happening: Live at the Village Vanguard Nominated
Best Improvised Jazz Solo "Celia" (Bud Powell) Nominated
2026 Best Contemporary Instrumental Album Ones & Twos Pending

References

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  1. ↑ "Gerald Clayton - Bluenote". Bluenote.
  2. ↑ "Listening in the Space: Kenny Barron Speaks". Jazz Speaks. 2022-11-07. Retrieved 2026-07-29.
  3. ↑ "Charles Lloyd Quartet | Umbria Jazz 2026". Umbria Jazz. Retrieved 2026-07-29.
  4. ↑ "Gerald Clayton Grammy Awards and Nominations, Song & Bio". Grammy. 2025-11-07. Retrieved 2026-07-29.
  5. ↑ "John & Gerald Clayton: Serving the Music". downbeat.com. 2022-07-06. Retrieved 2026-07-29.
  6. ↑ Ruhlmann, William (2024-05-24). "Clayton Brothers: Brother to Brother". JazzTimes. Retrieved 2026-07-29.
  7. 1 2 Jazz, All About (2009-12-18). "Jazz news: Grammy Nominated Album "Brother to Brother" by the Clayton Brothers". All About Jazz. Retrieved 2026-07-29.
  8. ↑ "The Clayton Brothers". December 22, 2008. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  9. ↑ "Gerald Clayton Trio -". montereyjazz.org. Retrieved 2026-07-29.
  10. ↑ "Next Generation Jazz Orchestra - Monterey Jazz Festival". montereyjazz.org. Retrieved 2026-07-29.
  11. ↑ "Gerald Clayton — Chart History: Jazz Albums". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Gerald Clayton — Chart History: Traditional Jazz Albums". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Two-Shade by Gerald Clayton". Apple Music. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  14. ↑ Dryden, Ken. "Gerald Clayton – Bond: The Paris Sessions: Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  15. ↑ "Life Forum by Gerald Clayton". Apple Music. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Tributary Tales by Gerald Clayton". Apple Music. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  17. ↑ Bells on Sand - Gerald Clayton | Album | AllMusic, retrieved 2025-06-07
  18. ↑ Ones & Twos - Gerald Clayton | Album | AllMusic, retrieved 2025-06-07
  19. ↑ Ones & Twos (Expanded Edition) by Gerald Clayton on Apple Music, 2025-05-30, retrieved 2025-06-07
  20. ↑ "Gerald Clayton — Chart History: Jazz Albums". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  21. ↑ "Gerald Clayton — Chart History: Traditional Jazz Albums". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  22. ↑ Short Stories by Vicente Archer, Gerald Clayton & Bill Stewart on Apple Music, 2023-06-09, retrieved 2025-06-07
  23. ↑ Motion I - Matt Brewer, Gerald Clayton, Out Of... | AllMusic, retrieved 2025-06-07
  24. ↑ "Happening: Live at The Village Vanguard by Gerald Clayton". Apple Music. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  25. ↑ "Gerald Clayton - Awards and Nominations". Grammys. December 15, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
[edit]
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