What Others Say about Jay Clayton

Jay's 65th Birthday Bash!
October 25, 2006 @ Sweet Rhythm, New York

The first set was packed and while Wednesday is generally a slower night, it was packed at Sweet Rhythm on the second set as well. The mood was bubbly and spirits riding high for the celebration of Jay's 65th Birthday.

She's been singing in NY and termed as one of the most adventurous singers in jazz and has performed all over the world. Jay mentioned her best friend, Sheila Jordan who was there in spirit. Tonight's lineup included Jane Ira Bloom on soprano sax, Gary Thomas (sax, flute) and a rhythm section with George Cables (p), Mike Formanek (b) and Billy Hart (d).

Jay opened by inviting her tap dancing friend Brenda Buffalino to the stage. Brenda gave a tap-intro to "A Little Hiku" with Jay scatting accompaniment. Brenda even tapped sitting down. This was an unexpected percussive enhancement that worked very well.
Jay's voice still has magic at 65, with a great sense of swing. She's an entertainer. Her ability to mirror the instrumental improvisation instantaneously was great.

Jay was animated and also into her groove. They were all on their games with Billy stinging the skins in a highly punctuated solo. Hart seems to cruise along and then inject explosive raps on the snare and or cymbals. He kept us attentive and helped keep the energy level high.

They followed with "A Lament" for John Coltrane. This is where Clayton used her voice as an instrument. Jay sang the vocals of "Young and Foolish" well followed by a rolling piano solo from Cables. Formanek was steady all night long. The music became soothing and relaxed us.

"A Little Fortune Cookie" gave us a view of the more melodic Clayton. Jay is comfortable in a wide variety of settings from ballads to free jazz. The performance of Gary Thomas was not to be overlooked with strong solos on both sax and flute.

But this was Jay's night and she kept us focused!
From 'Featured at O's Place.'
  Los Angeles Times  -  September 25, 2006

So good, you should have heard of her already  By Don Heckman - Special to The Times

Singer Jay Clayton is one of the special blessings of jazz. Like her close friend Sheila Jordan, she is an artist for whom the music is front and center. She turns 65 in October and has recorded on a fairly regular basis without a breakout album. But she has delighted virtually
every musician who's heard her or performed with her.

Clayton's appearance at Giannelli Square in Northridge on Saturday night provided a rare opportunity to experience the eclectic musicality of this vocal wizard. She set the tone for the evening with her first number, an enthralling take on the Alec Wilder standard "While We're
Young." Starting with a few lines of poetry from e.e. cummings, Clayton drifted into a series of disjunct notes — some high, some low — gradually allowing them to coalesce into the lyrics of the song.

When she followed with "Young and Foolish," she jokingly referred to her upcoming birthday celebration, then proceeded to interpret it in her utterly ageless style. Other pieces — from minor blues to more standards — received similarly eclectic renderings.

Clayton often inserted fragments of verse, more from cummings, some her own. She occasionally used an electronic looping machine juxtaposed to her spontaneous vocal lines, producing remarkable harmonic and polyphonic effects. And she was joined by Jordan for a stunning vocally symbiotic 80th birthday tribute to John Coltrane.

Clayton has worked and recorded with such contemporary music figures as Steve Reich as well as edgy jazz artists including Muhal Richard Abrams, Stanley Cowell and the provocative a cappella vocal ensemble Vocal Summit.

But her excursions through the outer territory of free spontaneity in no way diminished her mastery of straight-ahead jazz singing.

Her pliable voice, which allowed her to roam freely, with no register break, from velvety chest sounds to gloriously airy head tones, made each standard tune into an intimate experience. And her zephyr-buoyant sense of rhythm brought subtle, but urgent, propulsive swing to the
middle-tempo songs.

Clayton did not draw a capacity crowd, and her name recognition among the wider jazz audience is relatively insubstantial. That's a shame, since she is a true jazz original.