Gerald Clayton | Two-Shade |

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African American, Gerald Clayton, Jazz, Piano

Gerald Clayton | Listen: Two-Shade – [Decca UK, 2009]

Gerald Clayton, Two-Shade

Gerald Clayton was born on May 11, 1984 in Utrecht, The Netherlands and moved to the United States at a young age. Gerald grew up in a musical family (his father is bassist/composer John Clayton and his uncle saxophonist Jeff Clayton) and was exposed to a variety of musical styles from a very young age. He studied classical piano with Mrs. Linda Buck and jazz piano and composition with Shelly Berg, Kenny Barron and Billy Childs.

Gerald has received numerous awards over the past years: He was the winner of the Music Center Spotlight Awards in 2001. In 2002 Gerald was presented with the “level 1” award by the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts (NFAA), was named Presidential Scholar in the Arts and received a scholarship award from the Music for Youth Foundation. He also received the Shelley Manne Award for emerging young artists from the Los Angeles Jazz Society. In September of 2006, Gerald received Second Place in the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute Jazz Piano Competition.

Despite his young age, Gerald has already performed extensively with numerous outstanding musicians that include pianists Benny Green, Mulgrew Miller and Kenny Barron, trumpeter Clark Terry, drummer Lewis Nash and trumpeter Roy Hargrove.