Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Gerald Clayton: Two-Shade

Gerald Clayton: Two-Shade

By Ken Dryden
October 10, 2009
View read count

Gerald Clayton isn't like the average young jazz musician. He was immersed in music studies for a long time (his teachers include Kenny Barron, Billy Childs and Shelly Berg), while gaining experience playing duo piano concerts with Barron, Benny Green and Mulgrew Miller and also performing as a sideman with the legendary Clark Terry. If that's not enough, he has recorded more than once with the Clayton Brothers (co-led by father John and uncle Jeff) and contributed as pianist and arranger on vocalist Melissa Morgan's excellent debut CD.

The pianist is only in his mid-20s, though he shows both a tremendous maturity in his approach to his instrument and a wide-range of musical interests on this trio date with bassist Joe Sanders and drummer Justin Brown. His treatment of Cole Porter's "All of You" incorporates several brief-but-tantalizing musical detours, rather than approaching it in typically straight-ahead fashion. Clayton's lyrical introduction to "Con Alma" is simply masterful.

The remainder of the disc consists of the leader's thoughtful originals. The spry, funky "Boogablues" is full of humor, while the ballad "Peace For the Moment" is a multi-faceted work that resists being pigeonholed into any one style. He does throw in a few surprises, like the brief interludes with electronic voicings simulating wordless vocals in "Casiotone Pothole" and group vocals for a moment in the soulful "Two Heads One Pillow" (though neither of them are mentioned in the CD's credits). "Scrimmage" proves to be an irresistible up-tempo post-bop vehicle that finds the trio at its very best. With Two-Shade, Gerald Clayton reveals himself to be one of the potential jazz greats of his generation.

Track Listing

Boogablues; Trapped In Dream; Two Heads One Pillow; Peace For The Moment; All of You; Interlude-Love All Around; Casiotone Pothole; One Two You; Sunny Day Go; Scrimmage; Interlude-You're Out; Con Alma.

Personnel

Gerald Clayton

piano

Gerald Clayton: piano; Joe Sanders: bass; Justin Brown: drums.

Album information

Title: Two-Shade | Year Released: 2009 | Record Label: ArtistShare

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Infinito
< Previous

Flight of the Bumblebee
Next >

Gerald Clayton Concerts

Nov 9 Sun

John Scofield’s Combo 73

Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society
Half Moon Bay, CA

Mar 7 Sat

Gerald Clayton Quintet

Samueli Theater
Costa Mesa, CA

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.