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Gerald Clayton Trio at the Jazz Showcase, May 24-27 |
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Written by Ronaldo Oregano
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Saturday, 19 May 2012 |
 Gerald Clayton © Andrea Canter
A rising star of post–bop piano and an impressive composer, Gerald Clayton will appear with his trio featuring Joe Sanders on bass and Justin Brown on drums at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago on Thursday, May 24through Sunday, May 27th. Gerald has received numerous awards over the past years: He was the winner of the Music Center Spotlight Awards in 2001. In 2002 Gerald was presented with the "level 1" award by the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts (NFAA), was named Presidential Scholar in the Arts and received a scholarship award from the Music for Youth Foundation. He also received the Shelley Manne Award for emerging young artists from the Los Angeles Jazz Society. In September of 2006, Gerald received Second Place in the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute Jazz Piano Competition.
Gerald Clayton was born on May 11, 1984 in Utrecht, The Netherlands and moved to the United States at a young age. Gerald grew up in a musical family (his father is bassist/composer John Clayton and his uncle saxophonist Jeff Clayton) and was exposed to a variety of musical styles from a very young age. He studied classical piano with Mrs. Linda Buck and jazz piano and composition with Shelly Berg, Kenny Barron and Billy Childs.
26–year–old Gerald Clayton made a thrilling debut with his 2009 album two–shade (Decca/Emarcy). He later earned two Grammy Award nominations, for his original song "Battle Circle" as Best Instrumental Composition; and for the Clayton Brothers’ New Song and Dance as Best Jazz Instrumental Album. On May 10, Gerald Clayton released his second Decca/Emarcy CD, bond — Bond: The Paris Sessions. It’s a blend of inventive originals ("Snake Bite," "Sun Glimpse") and classics from the Great American Songbook ("If I Were A Bell," "All The Things You Are"). Ben Ratliff wrote in The New York Times "Clayton’s playing had huge, authoritative presence, an Oscar Peterson-like style, highly controlled touch and dynamics and rhapsodic, episodic soloing."
Despite his young age, Gerald has already performed extensively with numerous outstanding musicians that include pianists Benny Green, Mulgrew Miller and Kenny Barron, trumpeter Clark Terry, drummer Lewis Nash and trumpeter Roy Hargrove.
The Jazz Showcase is located at 806 S. Plymouth Court in historic Dearborn Station in downtown Chicago; sets each night at 8 and 10 pm (plus 4 pm matinee on Sunday); www.jazzshowcase.com. |
Chicago 
Sunday, 19 May 2013
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