Jazz master shares musical insights with students

The Flathead Valley got to hear another great this weekend with a visit of a man known by some as the best jazz bassist in the world playing in a top-flight trio.

John Clayton, one of the most studied jazz bassists in the world, came to the Flathead Valley with his Ray Brown Tribute Trio band to perform two shows and later to share musical knowledge with local students.

Clayton said he enjoyed playing at the Whitefish and Bigfork performing arts centers this weekend during his first visit to the valley.

“They were cool venues, great performance halls,” Clayton said. “The community has done a great job of getting really nice sounds and acoustics in a modern setting.”

On Monday, Clayton gave a presentation to Jenanne Solberg’s high school orchestra class in Whitefish. Giving advice on technique and sound has become part of Clayton’s activities while traveling.

“I usually try to suss out what they need in a given situation,” Clayton said. “It’s all the same whether it’s a big city, small city, American, Europe, Japan. We’re all human beings who want to play music and have fun with it.”

His message on Monday was simple but his delivery was smooth with a deep jazz voice.

“Our ultimate goal as artists is to use our instruments to express ourselves,” Clayton said. “The instrument is just an amplifier for the music that’s in us.”

Clayton talked about his own background, dating back to junior high when he first chose the bass as his band instrument. He spoke about meeting Ray Brown, a UCLA jazz instructor who was considered to be the best bassist of his time, and how that changed the trajectory of Clayton’s life into the performer, composer and arranger that he is today.

Clayton’s talents have taken him around the world and back again to start his own bands, orchestras and classes.

“I get to travel around and meet people like you,” Clayton said to the class. “I’m very lucky that way. It’s exciting for me, just walking in and hearing you play.”

Clayton has earned a Grammy and worked with artists such as Paul McCartney and Yo-Yo Ma. One of his career highlights was arranging Whitney Houston’s 1990 Super Bowl performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Erica von Kleist, one of Clayton’s former students, was there to introduce Clayton to the class. Von Kleist now lives in Whitefish, where she founded Groovetrail, a nonprofit organization that brings workshops and concerts to local schools and community centers.

“It’s really awesome for me to see him here because I love teaching the kids here,” von Kleist said. “To have one of my mentors that made such an impact on my life, working with my students, it’s like it’s coming full circle.”

Von Kleist also instructs several students in jazz camps in Whitefish. Several of her students are in the orchestra class at Whitefish High School. Clayton said he was happy to see his former student paying her knowledge forward to the next generation of jazz musicians.

“It makes me really proud,” Clayton said.

Singer and Simpson, the Whitefish production company made up of Miriam Singer and John Simpson, has attracted top-tier acts such as pianists Peter Nero and Marcus Roberts and Clayton’s son, Gerald Clayton.

Miriam Singer said it took two years to get John Clayton booked for the weekend. The wait was due to compiling the Ray Brown Tribute Trio band, including top-caliber performers in drummer Jeff Hamilton and pianist Larry Fuller. All three musicians had previously worked with Brown before he died more than a decade ago.

“It is amazing,” Singer said. “I wish more people were aware of how great these guys are.”

Singer and Simpson had a grand piano trucked in from Spokane for the Ray Brown Tribute Trio’s performance on Friday and Saturday.

Von Kleist said Clayton’s visit validates a strong track record of great talent stopping through the Flathead Valley and she hopes his stop brings more artists from his caliber to local venues.

“It helps us to have more ties to the jazz world,” von Kleist said. “Making Whitefish a stop on people’s radar while they’re coming from the big city does a lot for the support of live music here in the valley.”

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.