The Clayton Brothers is the brain child of saxophonist Jeff Clayton. According to Jeff, some 30 years ago he and his brother, Grammy Award winning bassist John Clayton, agreed to support each other's preferred formats. Jeff's love of small groups lead to formation of the Clayton Brothers Quintet. John's love for big bands led to formation of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra with drummer Jeff Hamilton, of which brother Jeff is a part. The current roster of the Clayton Brothers Quintet includes brothers Jeff and John, along with John's son Gerald Clayton (piano), Obed Calvaire (drums) and Terell Stafford (trumpet). The band's latest album The Gathering was released in December 2012.

Personnel

Jeff Clayton

Jeff Clayton plays reed instruments alto sax and oboe, in addition to the French horn and flute. He has performed and recorded with various well known musicians such as

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

, Gladys Knight, Kenny Rogers, Michael Jackson,

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...

, Queen Latifah,

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

, Earth, Wind & Fire,

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", "I Write the Songs", " Can ...

, D. J. Rogers,

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

, Quincy Jones, Valerie King, Helen Baylor, etc. He also has worked with numerous well-known jazz artists such as B.B. King,

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

, Ella Fitzgerald,

Sammy Davis, Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

, Woody Herman,

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

, Diana Krall,

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...

, McCoy Tyner, John Pizzarelli,

Dee Dee Bridgewater Dee Dee Bridgewater (née Denise Garrett, May 27, 1950) is an American jazz singer and actress. She is a three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, as well as a Tony Award-winning stage actress. For 23 years, she was the host of National ...

, and Ray Charles.

John Clayton

John Clayton is a bassist and also a composer/arranger/conductor. He has worked for the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

as the Artistic Director of Jazz from 1998 through 2001. His work was recognized by NARA and nominated for multiple Grammy awards. He has received a Grammy award for Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s): Queen Latifah's "I'm Gonna Live Till I Die," as arranger in 2008. He has written and/or arranged music for

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solo ...

, Nancy Wilson, Ray Brown, Regina Carter, McCoy Tyner, Carmen McRae, Quincy Jones, Diana Krall, Kurt Elling,

, Gladys Knight, Natalie Cole, Whitney Houston, etc.

Discography

*''It's All in the Family'' (Concord, 1980) *''The Music'' (Capri, 1991) *''Expressions'' (Warner Bros, 1997) *''Siblingity'' (Warner Bros, 2000) *''Back in the Swing oh Things'' (Sindrome,2005) *''Brother to Brother'' (ArtistShare, 2008) *''The Gathering'' (ArtistShare, 2012) *''Soul Brothers'' (ArtistShare, 2016)

Brother to Brother

ArtistShare Project-''Brother to Brother''

ArtistShare has been well known for their "Fan-funded" projects. The Clayton Brothers joined ArtistShare to provide unique participant offers to let their fans to have exclusive access to videos, audio shows, downloads, photos and updates on the project. If participants fund the project at higher level, they can have an autographed and personalized CD, narrated listening guide to the recordings by the artists, an iPod pre-loaded with the artists' favorite music, VIP access to performances with backstage access etc.

Reviews

''Brother to Brother'' has been receiving reviews that highly value the album.

New York Times

Hartford Courant

Jazz Review

Jazz.com

The Providence American

Buffalo News

Cabaret Exchange
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clayton Brothers American jazz ensembles