Musician Guides/Current Calendar Ranking

Verified Global Musician

Gerald Clayton

Gerald Clayton is a pianist, composer, bandleader, and musical director whose work connects an evolving leader catalog with long-running collaborations.

PianoComposerBandleaderMusical director15 current shows

Photo source · Photo: Schorle, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Career Overview

About Gerald Clayton

Clayton's artist and Blue Note biographies trace his piano studies with Billy Childs and Kenny Barron, his early leader albums, and an extended recording and touring relationship with Charles Lloyd. His catalog moves between trio and quintet work, larger commissions, and collaborative projects.[1][2]

Blue Note documents Happening: Live at the Village Vanguard as Clayton's 2020 label debut, followed by Bells on Sand in 2022 and Ones & Twos in 2025. The three recordings frame live ensemble interplay, music about time and memory, and a turntablism-inspired studio experiment as distinct leader projects.[3][4][5]

Ensembles and Career Threads

Bands & Projects

Leader, pianist, composer, and producer

Gerald Clayton leader ensembles

Clayton's Blue Note catalog places his writing in live quintet, intimate duo and trio, and layered studio settings, with changing collaborators selected for each recording's concept.[2][3][4][5]

Pianist

Charles Lloyd ensembles

Association documented since 2013

Blue Note's biography records Clayton's long touring and recording association with Charles Lloyd, including appearances on Wild Man Dance and 8: Kindred Spirits.[2]

Pianist and collective member

Out Of/Into

Blue Note identifies Clayton with the collective Out Of/Into alongside Immanuel Wilkins, Joel Ross, Kendrick Scott, and Matt Brewer, an ensemble first assembled for the label's 85th anniversary.[2]

Selected, Not Exhaustive

Recordings to Know

2020 · Blue Note Records

Happening: Live at the Village Vanguard

Leader, pianist, and composer

Recorded across six nights in 2019, Clayton's Blue Note debut presents his quintet with Logan Richardson, Walter Smith III, Joe Sanders, and Marcus Gilmore.[3]

Release details

2022 · Blue Note Records

Bells on Sand

Leader, pianist, and composer

Bells on Sand brings Clayton together with Charles Lloyd, John Clayton, Justin Brown, and MARO for a recording organized around ideas of time and change.[4]

Release details

2025 · Blue Note Records

Ones & Twos

Leader, pianist, composer, and producer

Clayton designed Ones & Twos so separately composed sides could also be heard together, with Joel Ross, Elena Pinderhughes, Marquis Hill, Kendrick Scott, and Kassa Overall contributing.[5]

Release details

Artist-Authorized Destinations

Start Listening

Ones & Twos

Open Blue Note's official multi-service destination for Clayton's 2025 turntablism-inspired project.

Bells on Sand

Hear Clayton's 2022 Blue Note recording through the label's official streaming destination.

Happening: Live at the Village Vanguard

Open the official listening destination for Clayton's live Blue Note debut.

Live Calendar

Upcoming Jazz DateBook Shows

Sat, Aug 22, 8:00 PM

Bill Frisell Four

Village Vanguard · New York

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Sat, Aug 22, 10:00 PM

Bill Frisell Four

Village Vanguard · New York

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Sun, Aug 23, 8:00 PM

Bill Frisell Four

Village Vanguard · New York

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Sun, Aug 23, 10:00 PM

Bill Frisell Four

Village Vanguard · New York

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Fri, Aug 28, 7:00 PM

Gerald Clayton

Dizzy's Club · New York

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Fri, Aug 28, 9:00 PM

Gerald Clayton

Dizzy's Club · New York

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Sat, Aug 29, 7:00 PM

Gerald Clayton

Dizzy's Club · New York

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Sat, Aug 29, 9:00 PM

Gerald Clayton

Dizzy's Club · New York

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Sun, Aug 30, 5:00 PM

Gerald Clayton

Dizzy's Club · New York

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Sun, Aug 30, 7:30 PM

Gerald Clayton

Dizzy's Club · New York

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Thu, Sep 10, 7:30 PM

Charles Lloyd "Forest Flower 60th Anniversary Tour" Featuring Gerald Clayton, Larry Grenadier & Kweku Sumbry

Dimitriou's Jazz Alley · Seattle

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Fri, Sep 11, 7:30 PM

Charles Lloyd "Forest Flower 60th Anniversary Tour" Featuring Gerald Clayton, Larry Grenadier & Kweku Sumbry

Dimitriou's Jazz Alley · Seattle

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Sat, Sep 12, 7:30 PM

Charles Lloyd "Forest Flower 60th Anniversary Tour" Featuring Gerald Clayton, Larry Grenadier & Kweku Sumbry

Dimitriou's Jazz Alley · Seattle

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Sat, Sep 12, 9:30 PM

Charles Lloyd "Forest Flower 60th Anniversary Tour" Featuring Gerald Clayton, Larry Grenadier & Kweku Sumbry

Dimitriou's Jazz Alley · Seattle

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Sun, Sep 13, 7:30 PM

Charles Lloyd "Forest Flower 60th Anniversary Tour" Featuring Gerald Clayton, Larry Grenadier & Kweku Sumbry

Dimitriou's Jazz Alley · Seattle

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Sources

Career copy is original synthesis from the artist, label, and project sources below. Current dates come from Jazz DateBook event inventory.

  1. [1] Official biography

    Gerald Clayton

  2. [2] Label biography and release catalog

    Blue Note Records

  3. [3] Happening release feature

    Blue Note Records

  4. [4] Bells on Sand release feature

    Blue Note Records

  5. [5] Ones & Twos release announcement

    Blue Note Records