John Clay

John Clay: About Time

by Jack Bowers
December 28, 2025

New York-based drummer John Clay's latest album is appropriately titled About Time. For a drummer, of course, every phrase, every measure, every game plan is in essence about time, and Clay keeps exemplary time on each of the album's 10 numbers, as do the other members of his splendid quintet. Clay pilots a burnished rhythm section whose building blocks include pianist Enrique Haneine and bassist Sean Conly. Together, they lend staunch support to the ensemble's front-liners, trumpeter Shunzo ...