Home » Search Center » Results: James Clay

Results for "James Clay"

About James Clay

Results for pages tagged "James Clay"...

Musician

James Clay is a name new to many modern-day jazz listeners. But Clay's earliest fame came in the late 1950s when the young woodwind expert arrived on the Los Angeles jazz scene as a contemporary of this fellow Texan Ornette Coleman. Never an avant-garde experimenter like Coleman, Clay was immediately heard by his peers as a gifted mainstream player with ears open to a wide harmonic range. Clay went into obscurity for nearly 30 years before making a comeback. A fine tenor saxophonist who was part of the long tradition of Texas tenors, Clay was born in Dallas. Although early on he mostly played r&b and blues-oriented music, he was an early associate of Ornette Coleman and was open to playing in freer settings

Article: Late Night Thoughts on Jazz

Texas Tenors and the Big Beat

by Marshall Bowden
July 30, 2002

This article first appeared on All About Jazz in July 2002. Texas is a miniature of the cultural and musical melting pot that is American music. Texas shares a border with Louisiana, inheriting some of that state's French and Caribbean roots, and when it comes to the blues, Texas has its own style. Texas ...

Article: Book Review

Ornette Coleman: The Territory And The Adventure

by S.G Provizer
August 16, 2020

Ornette Coleman: The Territory And The Adventure Maria Golia 368 Pages ISBN: #9781789142235 University of Chicago Press 2020 Ornette Coleman holds a singular place in jazz history. The seeds of change in jazz had been sewn by Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra, John Coltrane and their cohorts, but Coleman's ...

Article: Profile

James Clay: Texas Tenor, Second Generation

by David Perrine
August 13, 2015

The term “Texas tenor" was originally coined to describe the sound and style of such swing era players as Herschel Evans, Illinois Jacquet, Buddy Tate, Budd Johnson, Arnett Cobb and others, and has subsequently been applied to second generation players from Texas that included James Clay, David Fathead" Newman and Marchel Ivery. What these players had ...

Article: Interview

Billy Harper: A Life of Persistence and Improvisation

by R.J. DeLuke
November 19, 2014

On stage, Billy Harper puts his lips to the tenor saxophone, stands relatively erect and sings through his horn; a strong, angular, muscular sound. There little physical gesticulation, belying the effort it takes to express feelings and emotions through the instrument. But Harper's creative statements demand attention. Over the last few years, a lot ...

Article: Profile

Gareth Lockrane: Doing That Grooveyard Thing

by Duncan Heining
November 13, 2012

Few musicians have developed successful careers in jazz playing just flute. You might think of Herbie Mann, Hubert Laws and Bobbi Humphrey, but only Jeremy Steig, Paul Horn and James Newton spring immediately to mind as artists who have achieved credibility with both fans and critics in their work. We can now add 36 year-old British ...

Article: Interview

Harold McMillan: Inspirational Commitment

by Josep Pedro
October 23, 2012

Deeply involved in Austin's music and art community, Harold McMillan has been providing access and exposure primarily to traditions derived from African American culture for more than twenty years. Initially he started the Blues Family Tree Project, a documentary collective first conceived as an oral history project, which ultimately contributed to the founding of Diverse Arts ...

News: Performance / Tour

Ed Wise & New Orleans Jazz in Cheltenham, PA on January 4th

December 27, 2011

Appearing at the Cheltenham Center for the Arts, 439 Ashbourne Rd, Cheltenham PA on January 4th 2012 will be bassist Ed Wise and his New Orleans Jazz Band. One show: 7:30-9PM. Tickets: $10/$5 for students. No advance sales. Free Refreshments! For info: 215-517-8337. This Jazz Bridge Neighborhood Concert Series is sponsored by Jazz Bridge, a 501C3 ...

670

Article: Interview

James Polk: Recipes from the Doctor

by Josep Pedro
April 13, 2011

Pianist Dr. James Polk's musical knowledge and worldwide experience spans over more than 50 years. His style, deeply-rooted in the blues, is an example of richness and experience. Polk came up along with a group of incredible Texan musicians; jazz and blues artists like David Fathead" Newman, Russell Jacquet, Arnett Cobb, Don Wilkerson, and Ornette Coleman, ...

1,124

Article: Live Review

L.A. Jazz Scene 2008: Alive and Swingin'

by Chuck Koton
January 22, 2009

The Los Angeles scene has often been referred to in patronizing terms by jazz lovers, musicians and writers. It has been said that the city's laid-back vibe deprives musicians of the energy that a New York audience can impart to the bandstand. Others complain that the growth of a hip jazz scene has been impeded by ...