Life Forum Gerald Clayton

• 1 Life Forum 02:52
• 2 Future Reflection 04:52
• 3 Shadamanthem 06:37
• 4 Sir Third 04:18
• 5 Deep Dry Ocean 05:27
• 6 Dusk Baby 05:39
• 7 Mao Nas Massa 04:47
• 8 Prelude 00:59
• 9 Some Always 05:37
• 10 Like Water 05:16
• 11 Unhidden 03:57
• 12 When an Angel Sheds a Feather 05:31
• 13 Ummg 03:56
• Total Runtime 59:48

Info for Life Forum

Mit “Life Forum” legt der Pianist Gerald Clayton die dritte Einspielung unter eigenem Namen vor, die zugleich sein Debütalbum für Concord Jazz ist. Begleitet wird er wieder von den beiden exzellenten Trio-Partnern, die man schon von den beiden Vorgängeralben her kennt: Bassist Joe Sanders und Schlagzeuger Justin Brown. Doch diesmal gesellt sich zu dem besten eingespielten Trio außerdem noch eine Reihe von spannenden Gästen: die beiden Saxophonisten Logan Richardson und Dayna Stephens, Trompeter Ambrose Akinmusire, die Vokalisten Gretchen Parlato und Sachal Vasandani sowie der Poet Carl Hancock Rux.

Clayton ist ein Künstler, der nicht in einem Vakuum arbeitet. Bei seinen Kollegen und beim Publikum ist er dafür bekannt, rastlos nach Möglichkeiten zu suchen, die ihm erlauben, sich in kreativer Weise mit anderen Künstlern musikalisch auszutauschen. Bewiesen hat er das in seiner noch jungen Karriere u.a. in Zusammenarbeiten mit Trompeter Roy Hargrove und Schlagzeugerin Terri Lyne Carrington sowie an der Seite so unterschiedlicher Vokalstars wie Michael Bublé, Diana Krall, Roberta Gambarini, Melissa Morgan oder Reneé Olstead.

Clayton bezeichnet “Life Forum” als das möglicherweise ambitionierteste Album, das er bisher aufgenommen hat. Was ein nicht gerade bescheidener Anspruch ist, wenn man sich den künstlerischen Erfolg der beiden vorangegangenen Alben vor Augen führt. Sowohl “Two-Shade” aus dem Jahr 2009 als auch “Bond: The Paris Sessions” von 2011 wurden jeweils für einen Grammy nominiert (eine dritte Grammy-Nominierung brachte ihm letztes Jahr seine Komposition “Battle Circle” ein, die er für die Clayton Brothers schrieb, die Band seines Vaters John und seines Onkels Jeff).

“Ich komponiere mehr als je zuvor”, sagt der 28-Jährige. “Und die Kollaboration mit einem größeren Ensemble erforderte eine Menge Vorbereitung. Ben Wendel, der das Album produzierte, hat mir dabei ungeheuer geholfen. Ich bewundere ihn als Musiker und Komponisten, und deshalb wusste ich, dass ich sein musikalisches Feedback schätzen würde. Wir trafen uns, bevor wir mit den Sessions begannen, um im Detail über die Musik zu sprechen und exakt auszuloten, was und wann es im Laufe der Aufnahmesessions passieren sollte. Die Arbeit an diesem Album hat mir sehr viel mehr abverlangt als die vorangegangenen Aufnahmen - rein organisatorisch und auch hinsichtlich des Schreibens.”

Das Schöne ist, dass man diese Anstrengungen “Life Forum” überhaupt nicht anhört. Die Musik hat dieselbe wunderbare Leichtigkeit, die auch schon die frühere Einspielungen auszeichnete und das amerikanische Jazzmagazin DownBeat zu der Aussage bewog: “In einer Generation von technischen und einfallsreichen Wunderkindern hebt sich Clayton durch seinen nuancierten Anschlag, seine präzise Artikulation und die Art, wie er die Narrative seiner Soli konstruiert, ab.”

In der sehr relaxten Titelnummer erklärt Carl Hancock Rux in einem Spoken-Word-Beitrag gleich zu Beginn die künstlerische Marschrichtung des Albums: “This is the map, old paths to new dangers, a place for passion reserved, for brief touches, for remembering love diminished, for freedom...” Die Interaktion mit den Gästen erlaubt dem Gerald-Clayton-Trio auf “Life Forum” neues Terrain zu erkunden. Die drei Bläser und die beiden Vokalisten bereichern die Musik außerdem um eine breite Palette von Klangfarben und geben ihr auch eine neue Dynamik.

“All meine Projekte sind persönlich”, sagt Gerald Clayton. “Und die Stücke dieses Albums stammen alle aus meiner Feder. Inspiriert wurde ich zu den Kompositionen durch Ereignisse in meinem Leben, ganz besonders die Liebe und Lebensumschwünge. Mit diesen Kompositionen, die sehr persönlichen Erfahrungen widerspiegeln, wollte ich dieser Gruppe von erstaunlich kreativen Künstlern ein Forum bieten, in dem sie sich - beflügelt vom Geist der Freiheit, Offenheit und Harmonie - selbst artikulieren konnten. Alle Lebenserfahrungen und Interaktionen eröffnen uns die Chance, Toleranz, Liebe, Ehrlichkeit, Mitgefühl und Akzeptanz zu entwickeln. Mir selbst bot die Arbeit an diesem Album die außerordentliche Gelegenheit künstlerisch zu wachsen.”

Gerald Clayton, piano & keyboards
Joe Sanders, bass
Justin Brown, drums
Logan Richardson, saxophones
Dayna Stephens, saxophones
Ambrose Akinmusire, trumpet
Gretchen Parlato, vocals
Sachal Vasandani, vocals
Carl Hancock Rux, spoken word

Gerald Clayton
Over the course of eight years, with three albums as a leader, several studio projects as a sideman, and countless worldwide performances, pianist and composer Gerald Clayton has established himself as a leading figure in the up-and-coming generation of jazz artists who are fluent in the range of styles that make up today´s jazz lexicon. Hailed by The New York Times for his "huge, authoritative presence," Clayton is well on his way toward etching his own enduring mark in the long and rich tradition of jazz. Never has this been more apparent than in Life Forum, his latest recording on Concord Jazz and his most ambitious project to date.

Born in the Netherlands in 1984 and raised in Southern California, Clayton took his first piano lessons before age seven with the full support and encouragement of his father, the acclaimed jazz bassist, composer and bandleader, John Clayton. Music was a central part of his life from as long as he can remember and it became a lifetime commitment very early on:

"I was in the third grade, and there was a talent show where I played a boogie-woogie piece that my dad had written for me," he recalls. "It was the first time that I played for an audience where I felt that people were really moved by something that I had just played. I remember thinking, ´Yep, this is what I´ll be doing for the rest of my life.´"

Clayton attended the L.A. County High School for the Arts and then enrolled at the USC Thornton School of Music. In the midst of his third year at USC, he temporarily relocated to New York to study at the Manhattan School of Music. "I knew I was eventually going to move to New York," he says, "so I thought it would be a good idea to experience the city for a year as a student." After returning to L.A. for a year and a half to finish his degree, he moved back to New York permanently.

In 2006, Gerald received the second place prize in the prestigious Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz Piano Competition. Around that time, he was introduced to trumpeter Roy Hargrove when they were both featured artists at a performance of the Henry Mancini Orchestra. "We were backstage during one of the rehearsals, and we started playing some duets," recalls Clayton. "After that I would see him from time to time in New York, and he would say, ´Great that you´re in New York now. I´ll call you.´ That was how things started."

The association resulted in three years of extensive touring with Hargrove between 2006 and 2009, and appearances on Hargrove´s recordings, Earfood (2008) and Emergence (2009). Gerald also appeared on recordings by several other artists, such as Diana Krall, Ambrose Akinmusire, Kendrick Scott, Melissa Morgan, Terell Stafford & Dick Oatts, and more recently Michael Rodriguez, Dayna Stephens, Terri Lyne Carrington, and the Clayton Brothers Quintet, led by his father and his uncle, saxophonist Jeff Clayton. Gerald continues to perform regularly with the Clayton Brothers.

In 2009, he released Two Shade, his debut album as a leader, with bassist Joe Sanders and drummer Justin Brown. Sanders and Brown have remained with him for his two subsequent records. It was from this recording that Gerald received a 2010 Grammy nomination in the category of ´Best Improvised Jazz Solo´ for his rendition of Cole Porter´s "All of You."

In 2011, Gerald received a second Grammy nomination, this time for ´Best Jazz Instrumental Composition´, for his piece "Battle Circle" featured on the Clayton Brothers recording, The New Song and Dance.

The same year, Clayton released his second album, Bond: The Paris Sessions. While the expectations may have been high in the aftermath of the acclaimed debut album, Clayton recalls the album coming together organically and with a minimum of stress. "You hear people talk about the curse of the sophomore album, but recording that album – and the whole process leading up to it – was very natural for us as a trio. We´d been touring a great deal at the time and spending a lot of time together, so going into the studio and catching that vibe was completely natural." Bond received a Grammy nomination, Gerald´s third, in 2012 for ´Best Jazz Instrumental Album´.

Life Forum, set for release in April 2013, "might be the most ambitious album yet," states Clayton. "Conceptualizing the music for a group of eight musicians was a new experience for me, and it required more preparation than I was accustomed to. With the addition of lyrics to three of the tunes, as well as some other post-production work, this project has been a departure from my previous two. I´m doing more writing now than I´ve ever done before, and working with Ben Wendel, who produced the record, was very helpful. I really admire his playing and his writing. He and I got together prior to the sessions to talk about the music and map out what I needed to do to get it recorded. In that sense, it was more demanding than the previous records."

This album contains no booklet.