There’s a brand new CD out!

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 10, 2009 by gailboydartistmanagement

Featuring Don Braden on saxophone and flute, Mark Rapp on trumpet, GRAMMY nominated Gerald Clayton on piano, Sachal Vasandani on vocals, Rene Hart on bass and Greg Gonzalez on drums. The record is the brainchild of celebrated producer Billy Terrell and is comprised of modern, contemporary arrangements from the Billy Strayhorn songbook. The band is built upon the artist roster of Gail Boyd, entertainment lawyer turned manager and mainstay in the world of jazz for over 30 years. Being acutely aware of consumer tendencies in our modern age, The Strayhorn Project was released digitally on iTunes, Amazon.com and the label’s site premiummusicsolutions.com first with a physical offering coming in January 2010.
George W. Carrol of The Musician’s Ombudsman is one of the first to review this new record saying “This CD project is a true successful experiment in the art of re-composing the composition. The harmonic and rhythmic deception in both ‘Satin Doll’ and ‘Chelsea Bridge’ is in a word fortuitous and striking… The Strayhorn Project comes to fruition very deliberately and impressively with exciting digressions into the world of harmony and melody. I must address as well the musical dialogue between these fine players creating an overall tonal scheme of both subtlety and imagination.”

On December 14th, the group will have their debut appearance in celebration of the digital release at the famed Blues Alley Jazz Club in Washington, D.C. For details, tickets, music, pictures and to learn more about Braden-Rapp: The Strayhorn Project, please visit: www.bradenrapp.com

We offer our congratulations to John and Jeff Clayton of the Clayton Brothers and to Gerald Clayton for their Grammy © Nominations!

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 3, 2009 by gailboydartistmanagement

Category 46
Best Improvised Jazz Solo
(For an instrumental jazz solo performance. Two equal performers on one recording may be eligible as one entry. If the soloist listed appears on a recording billed to another artist, the latter’s name is in parenthesis for identification. Singles or Tracks only.)
•All Of You
Gerald Clayton, soloist
Track from: Two-Shade
[ArtistShare]

Category 47
Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
(For albums containing 51% or more playing time of INSTRUMENTAL tracks.)
•Brother To Brother
Clayton Brothers
[ArtistShare]

John Clayton also arranged a song and performed with Yo-Yo Ma and Diana Krall in the following Grammy © Nominated Album:

Category 107
Best Classical Crossover Album

‘Yo-Yo Ma & Friends: Songs Of Joy And Peace,’ Yo-Yo Ma (Odair Assad, Sergio Assad, Chris Botti, Dave Brubeck, Matt Brubeck, John Clayton, Paquito d’Rivera, Renée Fleming, Diana Krall, Alison Krauss, Natalie McMaster, Edgar Meyer, Cristina Pato, Joshua Redman, Jake Shimabukuro, Silk Road Ensemble, James Taylor, Chris Thile, Wu Tong, Alon Yavnai & Amelia Zirin-Brown)

Danilo Perez Joins Gail Boyd Artist Management!

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , on November 17, 2009 by gailboydartistmanagement

Gail Boyd Artist Management is pleased to announce the addition of Grammy-nominated pianist/composer/bandleader Danilo Perez to it’s talented roster. In addition to being a one of the influential and dynamic musicians of our time, his distinctive blend of Pan-American jazz (covering the music of the Americas, folkloric and world music) has attracted critical acclaim and loyal audiences around the world. We are pleased to welcome Danilo!

Brother to Brother Music Review in the NY Times!

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 23, 2008 by gailboydartistmanagement

THE CLAYTON BROTHERS
Brother to Brother
(ArtistShare)

By Ben Ratliff of the New York Times

On “Brother to Brother,” the Clayton Brothers are after some specific genial and rugged pleasures in jazz that come directly from the early 1960s, particularly from the music of Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane. But helping to shine up an old sound, making it distinct, are the band members’ individual musical voices, and they’re what make this record sing.
The bassist John Clayton and the alto saxophonist Jeff Clayton, based in Los Angeles, have been working together, in a small group or a big band (the Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra), for about 30 years, and recently with John’s son, the pianist Gerald Clayton, as well. (The other members here are the excellent trumpeter Terrell Stafford and the young drummer Obed Calvaire.) Family bands can have a special consonance and fluency, and this one definitely does. But there’s also a loose theme of brotherly teams in jazz that runs through this album’s dedications: to Thad, Hank and Elvin Jones, and Nat and Cannonball Adderley, for example. Another defining quality of the record is its sunniness.
This is jazz that does not go toward the darkness. It doesn’t displace rhythms, find dissonances or court any sort of obscurity as it uses shuffle beats, Afro-Latin six-eight rhythm and neat funk grooves. It’s articulately swung and proud of its clarity. On anything above midtempo, it pushes a little faster than you expect, and it finds its jazz-language virtuosity sometimes in the same places that it’s finding a sense of humor. This sensibility is consistent throughout the record, and all three Claytons are in on it.
John Clayton is one of the most technically imposing bassists in jazz, and his big tone and swing are paramount here. Jeff maintains a sweet, preaching delivery; the Adderley influence runs deep in him. But you can also hear Johnny Hodges in the ballad “Where Is Love.” And Gerald Clayton fills up the available space, busying himself with prettiness and authority. If you’ve listened to much hard bop or mainstream jazz of the early ’60s, you might find some easygoing clichés in his playing — or maybe even an awful lot of them — but they are smoothly rendered. More important, the friendly rhetoric of this music allows them.

More listening, Sachal Vasandani on BBC Radio!

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , on December 18, 2008 by gailboydartistmanagement

Listen now to Sachal’s interview with BBC Radio’s premiere jazz personality, Linley Hamilton!  Taped right before Sachal performed at Pizza Express as part of the London Jazz Festival, as part of ‘After Midnight with Linley Hamilton.’

Hear what news Sachal has!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00g21xm/After_Midnight_with_Linley_Ham

*Note: Interview begins roughly mid-stream.

Sachal Vasandani at London Jazz Festival

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , on December 15, 2008 by gailboydartistmanagement

 

The Sachal Vasandani Quartet recently finished a successful run of performances in Turkey and the UK.  Catch this interview by John Hellings of the BBC with Sachal.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p001j83n/John_Hellings_Big_Bands_29_11_2008/

Clayton Brothers Quintet Releases New Album!

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , on November 24, 2008 by gailboydartistmanagement

The Clayton Brothers Quintet has just released their latest album on Artistshare!

Get it now! http://www.artistshare.com/projects/offer_details.aspx?artistID=112&projectID=190&productID=1431&selection=1&salesTypeID=6&headerTx=participant+offers

Brother to Brother is a swinging compilation of original and cover pieces that feature or where inspired by great brother duos in jazz history.

In addition to John Clayton on bass and Jeff Clayton on sax, Brother to Brother features Obed Calvaire on drums, Gerald Clayton on piano, and Terell Stafford on trumpet.

John Clayton with Yo-Yo Ma and Diana Krall

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , on November 4, 2008 by gailboydartistmanagement

Yo-Yo Ma’s latest record, Songs of Joy and Peace is on sale now and features John Clayton on bass. Catch a clip of John performing with Ma, and the lovely vocalist/pianist Diana Krall.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7vfHTn_4SFw

Inside the mind of Mark Rapp…

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on October 31, 2008 by gailboydartistmanagement

When asked recently what he motivation and methods were, up-and-coming trumpeter Mark Rapp has this to say:

Where do I get my compositional inspiration? From everything and anything… it could be a book I’m reading that triggers some sounds in my head or a story someone tells (as was the case for my tune “Token Tales“) or it could be the crazy stress of a hot subway platform and everyone is ticking you off. In terms of musical considerations, I much, much prefer singer/songwriters for their simple melodies and passionate presentations/performances. Angular, complex, brainy music definitely has its place and I definitely take the time to check it out and enjoy its brilliance, but honestly, for the most part, I’d prefer to hear Bob Dylan or Radiohead than an infinite series of altered chords blazing by at break-neck speed.

 

I love Miles Davis of the 50’s and 60’s, Chet Baker, Dexter Gordon, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter…As for today’s players: Terence Blanchard is my current favorite. He’s always, always taking risks on stage and going for it. And there will be at least a few times where he’ll miss what he’s going for, but it is so inspiring, so real, completely honest – that is truly bad! Marcus Printup is fantastic – probably one of the most soulful, heartfelt players. Branford Marsalis continues to reign supreme for me on sax. Bjork, Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine… world music… Fela Kuti… love it. 

 

As for practicing the horn… I would kill to have the time I had in college – man, if I can get in 2 hours in a day, that is a rare and exceptional experience for me. At the very least, I hit the basics everyday… I start with long tones on second line G and work my way all the way down to the bottom of the horn playing each note for about 60 seconds, as softly as I can, yet with as much support as I can. You want the feeling of filling up the entire horn with air, but keeping the note very soft. Then, I like Arturo Sandoval’s warm-up that he got from (I think) a Claude Gordon book that starts on middle C and down… then just a couple of pedal tones… basically, I get the blood moving in the lips, get them feeling full and vibrant. I run through major scales in all 12 keys utilizing an array of patterns – starting slow. Do some lip slurs on Augmented, Major, Minor and Diminished chords… tonguing exercises (often, tonguing is incorporated into the scales)…

 

As far as improvisiation goes… man, sometimes I’ll end up unintentionally going off on a scale exercise and play a groove on that sound. Just playing… no goals or intentions.. just working it out, exploring what hits me, enjoying playing my horn and getting into the particular tonality of the scale. Or I’ll work on a tune… very slowly play through the changes… make sure I understand the chords.. that alone could take days or a week… and just keep working it… then play the tune on a gig a number of times… eventually you start finding the freedom in the tune. It’s a long process for me… some tunes probably will never feel free. Others are a blast to play from the get-go and I can weave in and out all over the place.

 

Just last night, I was at a jam session and sat-in on a number of tunes. One of the tunes we played was “Softly as in a Morning Sunrise.” Even a tune that I’ve played for years and know well, I was finding so many new ways of approaching it, but I was also discovering more things about me as a musician, me as a man. Investigating any desire to prove something to other musicians or my control in volume, patience in phrasing (or lack thereof), playing on top or behind the beat, my tone, my flexibility in the moment, new harmonic ideas, camaraderie amongst the band, reacting to the drums, following the piano player’s lines, etc. There was so much to learn or benefit from in playing just a couple of passes on a tune. Well, there is if you want it or look for it. For me, I learned I caused my flexibility to suffer and hence my melodic ideas to suffer because I had a few moments of playing too loud and aggressively which stemmed from some silly desire to prove I had a bigger tone on my horn. So, for those couple of phrases, I played fat and loud, but what I executed on the horn wasn’t what I was truly hearing in my head, in my heart. I let a moment go by that could have been much more meaningful and in the end, more musical and impressive had I set the ego aside and not blasted this other trumpeter away. Then again, he was a cocky little thing, like we trumpeters can be, so it was simply his turn to be set straight. Next time though, it may be my turn to get schooled on the bandstand. 

 

In the end, if you love the manual labor of the horn and can’t go a day without at least touching your horn, you’ll be good to go.

 

Battle of the Bands

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , on October 13, 2008 by gailboydartistmanagement
By John Clayton 
If true battles were fought the way some people imagine the Clayton-Hamilton and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra are to duke it out this month (more on the “other” Duke in a moment), we might just be a world with fewer global conflicts.
What you will witness, when the two bands perform on Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater stage together, will be two bands with a high level of mutual respect that are eager to share their artistic energy. And energetic it will be!
What good can come of two huge ensembles performing at the same time? It’s all about color and texture, tension and release, inspiring and being affected. There will be sounds produced that you can’t get from a smaller combination of instruments and I’m not speaking about the decibel level. There will be a warm, cushion-like sound that fills the room when a ballad is performed by the two bands together. There will be a refined wall of sound that will excite all listeners. But there will primarily be “The Vibe.”
The mood, the feeling, the atmosphere communicated from the stage will be in the air in knife-cutting thickness. This mood thing is not unfamiliar to us. We live for it, we lay for it, and we even spend money to be in the same room with it.
Listen to the bite of the brass, the grace and excitement of the saxes. Check out the drive of the rhythm sections. Feel the joy of the musicians. Put it together and you’ll have that special vibe and mood.
The most popular collaboration between two big bands occurred when Count Basie met Duke Ellington in a NY studio in 1961. To understand the respect these top band leaders had for each other, observe what Ellington had to say about Basie on the day of their recording:

“The Count is a very dear friend,” he announced regally. “I have known and admired him ever since he appeared at Edmond’s in 1923. …the Count was playing piano [there] when I first arrived in New York from Washington. Yes, he and I are very close. He’s like a brother to me. Over the years I have developed a profound and total appreciation of the Count… I deem it a pleasure and an honor to have had him and his entire big, fat sound, swinging band as our house guests, as it were.”

It is in this spirit that East meets West. It is in this spirit that unforgettable music will be made. It is in this spirit that music was written and rehearsed for audiences which came from near and far. And it is why, unlike other types of battles, this encounter finds 35 jazz artists getting together to combine their joy.

Listen for their styles, the compositions and arrangements they use to introduce the members, their dynamics, their swing (OMG, The Swing that we will all experience!), their attention to detail and more. When you allow yourself to flow with them, you will be transported to a place that will be fulfilling and memorable.

Duke and Count made history with their 1961 recording. 47 years later, the JLCO and CHJO will make history when they combine forces to laugh and play together. Oh,…and SWING!

JLCO and CHJO will be performing together at the Rose Theater at Lincoln Center from Oct. 23-25.

 

John Clayton at All About Jazz.
Visit John Clayton on the web.

This article first appeared in All About Jazz: New York.