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Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra at Mesa Arts Center

By Patricia Myers
March 20, 2014
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Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra
Mesa Arts Center
Mesa, Arizona
March 7, 2014

The

Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra

band / ensemble / orchestra
b.1995

" data-original-title="" title="">Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, one of the best big bands in the nation for three decades, swung mightily all night long with strong section work and stylish solos arranged for specific members, per

Duke Ellington

piano
1899 - 1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Ellington and

Count Basie

piano
1904 - 1984

" data-original-title="" title="">Count Basie. A brief post-intermission QA period from triumverate co-leaders bassist

John Clayton

bass
b.1952

" data-original-title="" title="">John Clayton, saxophonist

Jeff Clayton

saxophone
1954 - 2020

" data-original-title="" title="">Jeff Clayton and drummer

Jeff Hamilton

drums
b.1953

" data-original-title="" title="">Jeff Hamilton added personal insights for a full house of enthusiastic Arizona fans.

With John Clayton fronting the band as director, the concert opened with "Georgia on My Mind," the usual ballad treatment swapped for a fast-driving arrangement with ample space for tenor saxophonist

Rickey Woodard

saxophone, tenor
b.1950

" data-original-title="" title="">Rickey Woodard to first croon the intro, then burn his way to the end. The bebop mode of

Sonny Stitt

saxophone
1924 - 1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Sonny Stitt's classic "Eternal Triangle" let more of the reeds section contribute, including Lee Callet's throaty baritone, searing alto work by

Keith Fiddmont

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Keith Fiddmont and Jeff Clayton, and the tenor warmth of 74-year-old

Charles Owens

saxophone, tenor
b.1939

" data-original-title="" title="">Charles Owens (who was born in Phoenix), before the section harmonized a la

Supersax

" data-original-title="" title="">Supersax 2.0.

A musical twist took

Hoagy Carmichael

piano
1899 - 1981

" data-original-title="" title="">Hoagy Carmichael's 1938 "Heart and Soul" out of simple piano-duet status, Jeff Clayton supplying the melody on alto flute, replicated by his bassist brother's bowing richness and pianist

Tamir Hendelman

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Tamir Hendelman's purely captivating piano explorations of the simple melody line, Hamilton sweeping it along via inventive brushwork. Another change of pace was "Hat's Dance," a new original composed by Hendelman and drummer Hamilton, honoring the latter's 90-year-old mother, Harriet (nicknamed Hat) with a solid groove featuring more of Jeff Clayton's flute and the pianist's extraordinary command of the keys.

This band's command of dynamics, from musical murmurs to exciting roars, continued with a pair of tribute charts. "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat," composed in honor of

Lester Young

saxophone
1909 - 1959

" data-original-title="" title="">Lester Young by bassist

Charles Mingus

bass, acoustic
1922 - 1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Charles Mingus (another Arizona native), featured more of Clayton's alto flute countering his brother's liquid-silver bass moves, as the brass wailed mournful minors and Owens' tenor crooned deep shades of blue. The second salute was bassist

Ray Brown

bass, acoustic
1926 - 2002

" data-original-title="" title="">Ray Brown's "Buhaina Buhaina," the title referencing a nickname of drummer

Art Blakey

drums
1919 - 1990

" data-original-title="" title="">Art Blakey when he briefly took the name Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he visited Africa in the late '40s. The combined sounds of Woodard's tenor and Jeff Clayton's flute with

Clay Jenkins

trumpet
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Clay Jenkins on trumpet and John Clayton playing arco were underscored by Hamilton supple rhythm moves.

Hendelman launched

Thelonious Monk

piano
1917 - 1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Thelonious Monk'x "Evidence" to set up Jenkins' crisp angular open-horn progressions as the sax section coalesced in unison. The anticipated "Indiana" (Hamilton's birthplace) was unexpectedly played in slow-meter, as was "Emily," both featuring the Clayton brothers on bowed bass and lyrical alto sax. The trombone section, three-quarters of which have been with the band since its 1985 inception, was featured on an upbeat "I Love Being Here with You," with solo spots by

Ira Nepus

trombone

" data-original-title="" title="">Ira Nepus,

George Bohanon

trombone

" data-original-title="" title="">George Bohanon and Maurice Spears (bass t-bone). "Squatty Roo" from the

Johnny Hodges

saxophone, alto
1907 - 1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Johnny Hodges catalog for the

Duke Ellington

piano
1899 - 1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Ellington Orchestra featured solos by Woodard, Bohanon and Jenkins, fueled by Hamilton's slick sticks style.

Bassist

Ray Brown

bass, acoustic
1926 - 2002

" data-original-title="" title="">Ray Brown's "Captain Bill" tribute to Count Basie was a lively delight, Hendelman playing like the Count as bassist Luty's solo channeled

Walter Page

bass, acoustic
1900 - 1957

" data-original-title="" title="">Walter Page to support tenor man Owens again delivering a feature solo as Clayton turned into a dancing director during the orchestra's shout choruses, leading back to Hendelman's Basie-style finish.

The concert was the last in a series for John Clayton as artist-in-residence for the fourth year of the Mesa Arts Center's "Jazz from A to Z" program that focuses on music performance and music history as related to jazz. Clayton has led classes and workshops at the center and in schools for students and teachers, and the 550-seat theater's balcony was filled with high school students. Last year, he also performed in a quintet with his pianist son

Gerald Clayton

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Gerald Clayton and alto saxophonist brother Jeff, plus

Terell Stafford

trumpet
b.1966

" data-original-title="" title="">Terell Stafford on trumpet and

Obed Calvaire

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Obed Calvaire on drums. He also created and staged an intriguing bass trio with

Rodney Whitaker

bass
b.1968

" data-original-title="" title="">Rodney Whitaker and

Victor Wooten

bass
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Victor Wooten.

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