The Clayton Brothers Quintet
"Sib-ling-i-ty"

Nurtured through many years of shared experiences, the communication between two talented brothers can be magical. Throughout jazz history, brothers have teamed together: the Teagardens (trombonist Jack and trumpeter Charlie), the Jones Brothers (pianist Hank, cornetist Thad and drummer Elvin), the Heath Brothers (saxophonist Jimmy, bassist Percy and drummer Tootie), and the Marsalises (trumpeter Wynton, saxophonist Branford, trombonist Delfeayo and drummer Jason) all expressed their special bond musically.

The Clayton brothers are no exception. Bassist John and brother Jeff have worked together as a group since 1978 and as co-leaders (along with drummer Jeff Hamilton) of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra since 1985. The success of their 1997 quartet CD Expressions (Qwest 46351) resulted in an increase in public performances and new directions in the development of their group sound.

When discussing his brother's musicianship, John Clayton comments, "Jeff has such great command of all of the horns he plays. On this recording he focuses on the alto saxophone and the flute, but he also plays all of the other wind instruments. I particularly love Jeff's ballad playing. Although I can hear the influences of Cannonball Adderley and Johnny Hodges buried in my brother's solos, he always sounds like Jeff Clayton." Jeff counters, "John's timing and his choice of notes makes it great to play with him."

"When selecting sidemen," notes John Clayton, "we look for sensitivity, a command in the use of dynamics, and a love to swing. We look for team players who do not just focus on themselves. We like for soloists to react to what we rhythm section players are playing. The musical ideas we feed them should affect the direction the music takes. Amongst the rhythm section players, it is our rule never to just concentrate on ourselves but instead to listen to the full group. Each of The Clayton Brothers' sidemen displays these qualities. I have always loved Jeff Hamilton for his swing, his sensitivity and his excitement. We have worked together for so many years that I don't even have to think about time or rhythm when I play with him; it's automatic. Bill Cunliffe is the ultimate, flexible pianist. He can go from James P. Johnson and Fats Waller to McCoy Tyner and is a masterful accompanist, whether with a vocalist, or behind an instrumental soloist in any style."

Regarding trumpet player Terell Stafford's contribution to the group, John comments, "Terell has a great sound and a strong sensitivity to swing. He has played with us at Vail for the last couple of years as part of the education program there. Terell is best known for his collaborations with Bobby Watson, Kenny Barron, the Carnegie Hall big band and the Lincoln Center Orchestra." Jeff Clayton adds, "John originally found Terell and convinced me that he would be a great musician to add to the group. Terell brings an added element of excitement to our usual quartet format."

The Clayton Brothers band performs music that is straight ahead and is tied to the jazz tradition, yet always looks forward in a creative manner. Although some of the pieces on their most recent set are tributes to jazz greats (sometimes incorporating brief opening statements of famous tunes), they use new, original compositions that extend rather than merely recreate the tradition. "We like melodic music and prefer to play songs that can be sung," says Jeff. "Instead of performing standards and compositions from yesteryear, we decided to play songs that we have been throwing in boxes for years. We finally had the chance to record them. We feel that we should infuse jazz with new songs rather than just perform the same standards that have already been done countless times. What better way to showcase who we are than by giving 200% of ourselves, both through our solos and our compositions?"

The Music Of Siblingity:
The brothers' program begins with Jeff Clayton's "Blues On Parade," a swinging original composition. "Old ladies used to come up to the bandstand and ask me to play 'Blues On Parade,'" remembers Jeff, "but I didn't know that song, so I just wrote one! "Blues On Parade" was inspired by the Adderley Brothers, we play Nat Adderley's 'Work Song' briefly at the beginning." John adds, "This is one of our signature songs, a tune that we often use as an opener." Having no relation to the swing tune of the same name (recorded by Woody Herman in 1939), the "new" "Blues On Parade" has wailing alto, trumpet and piano solos plus a fine trade-off with Hamilton while John Clayton swings away.

Altoist Jeff Clayton also composed the driving "Runway." "Usually when I write a song, I try to put an experience into the piece. This number depicts getting on a plane, feeling the plane move slowly but methodically on the runway and then taking off." This hyper, hard bop original really does move! It includes fiery statements from Stafford and its composer.

"Silver Worth Gold" is launched with an introduction of Horace Silver's "Filthy McNasty." "I wrote 'Silver Worth Gold' to tip my hat to Horace," explains John. "There is a joy to his music that I tried to capture in this piece." In fact, in a blindfold test, one would swear that "Silver Worth Gold" was a previously unreleased Horace Silver tune, so full is it of his brand of funk and soulful jazz.

"Entrez Vous" is John's personal favorite among all the songs that his brother has written. It has a haunting melody, beautiful harmonies by the horns and is highlighted by an impressionistic piano solo from Cunliffe. Jeff Clayton: "I write lyrics to all of my songs-even the fast ones-to solidify the melody and make the theme more memorable. On this song, part of the lyric is: 'True love travels in groups of two/That's one for me and one to carry you/If you believe what I tell you is true/I love you, entrez vous.'"

"Last Stop" was written under rather arduous circumstances by bassist John Clayton. "I was supposed to take a plane from Berlin to Tokyo in order to make an important concert in Japan. However, when I got to the airport in Berlin, it was closed because of an accident. A couple colleagues of mine were coincidentally also at the airport and were going to Japan as well. We rented a car, drove like a bat out of hell to Hanover, dumped the car, ran into the airport and just managed to get on a plane to Frankfurt. In Frankfurt I caught a plane to Seoul, changed planes there, and finally landed in Tokyo. By then I was really late for the concert. The promoter, who met me at the airport, took me on a 90-minute train ride during rush hour with my entire luggage and my instrument. After finally making it to Tokyo, we jumped into a taxi and rushed to the concert hall. Upon arrival I threw on my tuxedo, grabbed my bass and walked on stage where the music had already started. The only positive thing that came from that day was this tune, which I wrote while standing up in the train." This jubilant piece, which pays homage to Art Blakey and has a solo by the bassist, moves ahead confidently and a lot smoother than Clayton's trip to Tokyo!

John Clayton's "You Bossa Nova Me" has the feel of bossa nova but plenty of bite to the melody, with dancing bass lines behind the warm solos by Stafford, Clayton and Cunliffe.

"If This Isn't Love" starts off with Jeff Clayton's furiously and expertly played transcription of a Cannonball Adderley solo. It then rips through the chord changes and concludes with the catchy melody.

The beautiful ballad "That Night" has a tender, bowed solo from its composer John Clayton and a poignant alto saxophone solo by Jeff.

"The Bop Be Pops" begins with a short section of Oscar Pettiford's "Tricotism." John describes it as "my thank you to Ray Brown and one of the bass players who influenced him, Oscar Pettiford. Pettiford bridged the gap between swing and bebop, taking very melodic solos and placing them at the cutting edge of bebop. I call Ray Brown, one of the original creators of bebop, Pops, hence the name."

Jeff Clayton's "Save Yourself For Me" is a ballad tribute to pianist-singer Shirley Horn and the way in which she uses space and silence in her music. "I wrote this to showcase the talents of Terell Stafford," says Jeff. "Terell has the perfect tone for this."

"Heavy Drama" (also by Jeff) is a fiery closer that is full of heat, excitement and forward movement, displaying the power of the Clayton Brothers.

The Siblings:
John and Jeff Clayton were born and grew up in Venice, California. John, who is two years older than Jeff, describes his musical upbringing and how he became a bassist: "I remember hearing my mother's music (church music and choirs) and the R&B/soul music of the time. In junior high school I took music as my elective in the arts. I walked into the band room and asked the director if I could play the 'big thing over there' and he said 'Oh sure.' He wrote down my name and put 'Tuba' after it. As I was walking out of the room I saw these four gorgeous brown objects standing in the corner and I asked if I could play 'one of those' instead. He said 'Sure.' He crossed out 'Tuba' and put in 'Bass' instead!"

Jeff remembers, "My uncle had a jazz collection and he would sit us down and play stuff for us. Some of it was a bit too far out for us, initially, like John Coltrane, but I immediately liked Les McCann's 'Compared To What.' That was right out of our upbringing in the church. But the thing that really caught my ear was Cannonball Adderley. I started playing clarinet when I was nine, not getting a saxophone until I was 14. However I knew by nine that I wanted to be a musician. There was never any question in my mind. It is a blessing to be able to know what you want to do at an early age and just head for it."

John describes another crucial moment in his musical upbringing: "I met Ray Brown when he was teaching a course at UCLA called 'Workshop in Jazz Bass.'" Through Brown, Clayton met vibraphonist Milt Jackson and a young pianist named Monty Alexander who was playing with Jackson's group at Shelly's Manne-Hole. "I became great friends with Monty and joined his trio two weeks after I graduated from college." By then, John Clayton had decided that he had to be a musician. "I went to Donte's and saw male jazz musicians hugging each other and looking so happy. I remember thinking that this is where I wanted to be; around people who were that close and felt good about where they were at. After all, you don't see bankers hugging each other!"

Near the end of 1977, John Clayton had an opportunity to realize one of his goals. "It was my dream to play with Duke Ellington, but he died when I was in college. My other dream was to play with Count Basie, so after a couple years with Monty Alexander, I told Ray Brown how much I wanted to play with Basie. Ray knew him very well, called him up and it just so happened that Basie's bass player was leaving in two weeks. Two weeks after that phone call I was with Count Basie. That was an amazing experience. I learned so much during that period, including how to deal with people as well as how to focus on musical dynamics in a big band. I also became much more serious about writing."

Jeff Clayton played with the Basie orchestra as well, subbing for tenor-saxophonist Eric Dixon while Count was alive and, after Basie's passing, as an alto-saxophonist when the band was directed by Thad Jones. After leaving the Count Basie Orchestra, Jeff Clayton worked with Stevie Wonder for two years and freelanced. John Clayton, meanwhile, worked with Monty Alexander, Milt Jackson, McCoy Tyner, Joe Williams, Carmen McRae and many others, and wrote for European orchestras while living there.

In 1985, the Claytons joined forces with Jeff Hamilton to form the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. Featuring John's swinging arrangements and an all-star lineup of Los Angeles-based musicians, the big band quickly became a popular attraction. "One of the major high points for me," says the bassist, "was to have the orchestra be a part of the last recording that Milt Jackson made under his name, his next-to-last date. Making Explosion (Qwest 47286) was one of the thrills of my life." Another milestone was reached in 1999 when the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra became the "house band" for the Hollywood Bowl and John Clayton was named the artistic director of jazz for the L.A. Philharmonic.

This combination with Terell Stafford, Bill Cunliffe and Jeff Hamilton has solidified into the Claytons' strongest lineup yet. The continued growth of all of the group's stellar artists has positioned The Clayton Brothers among the top straight ahead jazz groups of the early 21st century. Upon listening to this brilliant CD, one will have a clearer understanding of the artistry of these jazz siblings. -Scott Yanow, Editor, All Music Guide To Jazz and author of Swing and Bebop.

— Scott Yanow, Editor, All Music Guide To Jazz and author of Swing and Bebop.