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{{Short description|American jazz trumpeter}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2012}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2012}}
{{Infobox musical artist
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Buck Clayton
| name = Buck Clayton
| image = BuckClayton.jpg
| image = Buck Clayton.jpg
| caption = Clayton in Shanghai around 1934
| caption = Clayton photographed by [[William Gottlieb]]
| image_size =
| birth_name = Wilbur Dorsey Clayton
| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1911|11|12}}
| birth_name = Wilbur Dorsey Clayton
| birth_place = [[Parsons, Kansas]]
| alias =
| death_date = {{death date and age|1991|12|8|1911|11|12}}
| death_place = New York City
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1911|11|12}}
| occupation = Musician
| death_date = {{death date and age|1991|12|8|1911|11|12}}
| birth_place = [[Parsons, Kansas]]
| instrument = Trumpet
| death_place = [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]]
| genre = [[Swing music|Swing]], jazz
| origin = United States
| label = Columbia, Riverside
| instrument = Trumpet
| genre = [[Swing music|Swing]], [[mainstream jazz]]
| occupation = Jazz trumpeter, band leader, composer, arranger
| years_active =
| label =
| associated_acts =
| website =
| current_members =
| past_members =
}}
}}
[[File:Buck Clayton 2.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Buck Clayton and his Harlem gentlemen posing in the [[Canidrome (Shanghai)|Canidrome]] 1930s]]
'''Wilbur Dorsey''' "'''Buck'''" '''Clayton''' (November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1991) was an American [[jazz]] trumpet player who was a leading member of [[Count Basie|Count Basie's]] "Old Testament" orchestra and a leader of mainstream-oriented jam session recordings in the 1950s. His principal influence was [[Louis Armstrong]]. ''[[The Penguin Guide to Jazz]]'' says that he “synthesi[zed] much of the history of jazz trumpet up to his own time, with a bright brassy tone and an apparently limitless facility for melodic improvisation”. Clayton worked closely with [[Li Jinhui]], father of [[Chinese popular music]] in Shanghai. His contributions helped change musical history in China, Hong Kong and [[Taiwan]].


'''Wilbur Dorsey''' "'''Buck'''" '''Clayton''' (November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1991)<ref name="LarkinJazz">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-580-8|page=90}}</ref> was an American [[jazz]] trumpeter who was a member of [[Count Basie]]'s orchestra. His principal influence was [[Louis Armstrong]], first hearing the record "Confessin' That I Love You" as he passed by a shop window.<ref name="Brothers">{{cite book |last1=Brothers |first1=Thomas David |title=Louis Armstrong, Master of Modernism |date=February 3, 2014 |publisher=W.W. Norton |location=New York |isbn=978-0-393-06582-4 |page=384 |edition=First}}</ref>
⚫
== Early years ==


⚫
==Early years==
Clayton learned to play the piano from the age of six.<ref>Buck Clayton & Nancy Miller Elliott ''Buck Clayton's Jazz World'', Macmillan [Bayou Press], 1986 [1989], p.19</ref> His father was an amateur musician associated with the family's local church, who was responsible for teaching his son the scales on a trumpet which he did not take up until his teens.<ref>Clayton & Miller Elliott, p.21 -22</ref> From the age of seventeen, Clayton was taught the trumpet by [[Bob Russell (musician)|Bob Russell]], a member of [[George E. Lee|George E. Lee's]] band. In his early twenties he was based in California, and was briefly a member of Duke Ellington's Orchestra and worked with other leaders. Clayton was also taught at this time by trumpeter [[Mutt Carey]], who later emerged as a prominent west-coast revivalist in the 1940s. After high school, he moved to Los Angeles. He later formed a band named “14 Gentlemen from Harlem” in which he was the leader of the 14-member orchestra.<ref name="Yanow">Yanow, Scott. [2000] (2000). ''Swing: Third Ear – The Essential Listening Companion''. Backbeat Books publishing. {{ISBN|0-87930-600-9}}.</ref>
Clayton learned to play the piano from the age of six.<ref>Buck Clayton & Nancy Miller Elliott ''Buck Clayton's Jazz World'', Macmillan [Bayou Press], 1986 [1989], p. 19</ref> His father was an amateur musician associated with the family's local church, who was responsible for teaching his son the scales on a trumpet, which he did not take up until his teens.<ref>Clayton & Miller Elliott, p. 21 -22</ref> From the age of 17, Clayton was taught the trumpet by Bob Russell, a member of [[George E. Lee]]'s band. In his early twenties he was based in California, and was briefly a member of [[Duke Ellington]]'s Orchestra and worked with other leaders. Clayton was also taught at this time by trumpeter [[Mutt Carey]], who later emerged as a prominent west-coast revivalist in the 1940s. He also met [[Louis Armstrong]] while Armstrong was performing at Sebastian's Cotton Club, who taught him how to glissando on his trumpet.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Brothers|first=Thomas|title=Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism|publisher=W.W. Norton & Company|year=2014|isbn=978-0-393-06582-4|location=[[New York City|New York]]|pages=386–87}}</ref> After high school, he moved to [[Los Angeles]].<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> He later formed a band named 14 Gentlemen from Harlem, in which he was the leader of the 14-member orchestra.<ref name="Yanow">Yanow, Scott. [2000] (2000). ''Swing: Third Ear – The Essential Listening Companion''. Backbeat Books publishing. {{ISBN|0-87930-600-9}}</ref>


From there, there are multiple sources claiming different ways in which Clayton ended up in Shanghai. Some claimed that Clayton was picked by [[Teddy Weatherford]] for a job at the [[Canidrome (Shanghai)|Canidrome]] ballroom in the French Concession in Shanghai.<ref name="Yanow" /> Others claimed he escaped the US temporarily to avoid racism.<ref name="Jones">Jones. Andrew F. [2001] (2001). ''Yellow Music: Media Culture and Colonial Modernity in the Chinese Jazz Age''. Duke University Press. {{ISBN|0-8223-2694-9}}</ref>
From there, there are multiple sources claiming different ways in which Clayton ended up in [[Shanghai]], China. Some claimed that Clayton was picked by [[Teddy Weatherford]] for a job at the [[Canidrome (Shanghai)|Canidrome]] ballroom in the French Concession in Shanghai.<ref name="Yanow" /> Others claimed he escaped the US temporarily to avoid racism.<ref name="Jones">Jones. Andrew F. [2001] (2001). ''Yellow Music: Media Culture and Colonial Modernity in the Chinese Jazz Age''. [[Duke University Press]]. {{ISBN|0-8223-2694-9}}</ref>


From 1934 or 1935 (depending on the sources), he was a leader of the "Harlem Gentlemen" in Shanghai. Some of the bureaucratic social groups he was with included [[Chiang Kai-shek]]'s wife [[Soong Mei-ling]] and her sister Ai-ling, who were regulars at the Canidrome.<ref name="Jones" /> Clayton would play a number of songs that were composed by [[Li Jinhui]], while adopting the Chinese music scale into the American scale. Li learned a great deal from the American jazz influence brought over by Clayton.<ref name="Jones" /> A 1935 guidebook in Shanghai listed Clayton and [[Teddy Weatherford]] as the main jazz attraction at the Canidrome. He would eventually leave Shanghai before the 1937 [[Second Sino-Japanese War]].<ref name="Jones" /> Clayton is credited for helping to close the gap between traditional Chinese music and [[shidaiqu]]/[[mandopop]]. Li is mostly remembered in China as a casualty of the [[Cultural Revolution]].
From 1934 or 1935 (depending on the sources), he was a leader of the "Harlem Gentlemen" in Shanghai. Some of the bureaucratic social groups he was with included [[Chiang Kai-shek]]'s wife [[Soong Mei-ling]] and her sister Ai-ling, who were regulars at the Canidrome.<ref name="Jones" /> Clayton played a number of songs that were composed by [[Li Jinhui]], while adopting the Chinese music scale into the American scale. Li learned a great deal from the American jazz influence brought over by Clayton.<ref name="Jones" /> A 1935 guidebook in Shanghai, listed Clayton and [[Teddy Weatherford]] as the main jazz attraction at the Canidrome. He left Shanghai before the 1937 [[Second Sino-Japanese War]].<ref name="Jones" /> Clayton is credited for helping to close the gap between traditional Chinese music and [[shidaiqu]]/[[mandopop]]. Li is mostly remembered in China as a casualty of the [[Cultural Revolution]].


== US career ==
== U.S. career ==
Later that year he accepted an offer from bandleader [[Willie Bryant]] in New York, but while moving east he stopped off in [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]] and was persuaded to stay by [[Count Basie]],<ref name="Yanow" /> whose orchestra had a residency at the [[Reno Club]], and took the trumpet chair recently vacated by [[Hot Lips Page]]. From 1937, the Count Basie orchestra was based in New York, giving Clayton the opportunity to freelance in the recordings studios, and he participated in recordings sessions featuring [[Billie Holiday]] and was also present on [[Commodore Records|Commodore]] (and later [[Keynote Records]]) sessions with [[Lester Young]]. Clayton remained with Basie until he was drafted for war service in November 1943. Based at [[Camp Kilmer]] near New York, Clayton was able to participate in various all-star sessions, some of which were led by [[Sy Oliver]].
Later that year he accepted an offer from bandleader [[Willie Bryant]] in New York, but while moving east he stopped in [[Kansas City, Missouri]] and was persuaded to stay by [[Count Basie]],<ref name="Yanow" /> whose orchestra had a residency at the Reno Club. Clayton replaced [[Hot Lips Page]]. Beginning in 1937, the Count Basie orchestra was based in New York City, giving Clayton the opportunity to work as a freelance musician in studio sessions with [[Billie Holiday]] and [[Lester Young]]. Clayton left Basie after being drafted in November 1943.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/>


== Post-war ==
== Post-war ==
After his honorable discharge in 1946 he prepared arrangements for [[Count Basie]], [[Benny Goodman]] and [[Harry James]] and became a member of [[Norman Granz|Norman Granz's]] '[[Jazz at the Philharmonic]]' package, appearing in April in a concert with Young, [[Coleman Hawkins]] and [[Charlie Parker]], and in October participated in JATPs first national tour of the United States. He also recorded at this time for the [[H.R.S.]] label. In 1947 he was back in New York, and had a residency at the [[Café Society]], Downtown, and the following year had a reunion with [[Jimmy Rushing]], his fellow Basie alumnus, at the [[Savoy Ballroom]]. Clayton and Rushing worked together occasionally into the 1960s.
After his honorable discharge in 1946, he prepared arrangements for [[Count Basie]], [[Benny Goodman]] and [[Harry James]] and became a member of [[Norman Granz]]'s [[Jazz at the Philharmonic]] package,<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> appearing in April in a concert with Young, [[Coleman Hawkins]] and [[Charlie Parker]], and in October participated in JATPs first national tour of the United States. He also recorded at this time for the [[Hot Record Society|H.R.S.]] label. In 1947, he was back in New York, and had a residency at the [[Café Society]], and the following year had a reunion with [[Jimmy Rushing]], his fellow Basie alumnus, at the [[Savoy Ballroom]].<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> Clayton and Rushing worked together occasionally into the 1960s.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/>


From September 1949 Clayton was in Europe for nine months, leading his own band in France. Clayton recorded intermittently over the next few years for the French [[Vogue Records|Vogue]] label, under his own name, that of clarinetist [[Mezz Mezzrow]] and for one session, with pianist [[Earl Hines]]. In 1953, he was again in Europe, touring with Mezzrow; in [[Italy]], the group was joined by [[Frank Sinatra]].
From September 1949, Clayton was in Europe for nine months, leading his own band in France. Clayton recorded intermittently over the next few years for the French [[Vogue Records|Vogue]] label, under his own name, that of clarinetist [[Mezz Mezzrow]]<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> and for one session, with pianist [[Earl Hines]]. In 1953, he was again in Europe, touring with Mezzrow; in Italy, the group was joined by [[Frank Sinatra]].


== Mainstreamer ==
== Mainstreamer ==
The English critic [[Stanley Dance]] coined the term "mainstream" in the 1950s to describe the style of those swing era players who fell between the revivalist and modernist camps. Clayton was precisely one of the players to whom this appellation most applied. In December 1953 Clayton embarked on a series of jam session albums for [[Columbia Records|Columbia]], which had been the idea of [[John H. Hammond|John Hammond]], though [[George Avakian]] was the principal producer. The recording sessions for these albums lasted until 1956. The tracks could last the length of an [[LP (format)|LP]] side, and it had been the new format that had given Hammond the idea, but sometimes this led to unfortunate anomalies. The title track on the ''[[Jumping at the Woodside]]'' album was compiled from two takes recorded four months apart, each with a completely different rhythm section. Clayton's ''[[Jazz Spectacular]]'' album from this series (with [[Kai Winding]], [[J. J. Johnson]] and vocals by [[Frankie Laine]]) is loved by jazz and pop fans alike. Clayton also recorded at this time for [[Vanguard Records|Vanguard]], with Hammond producing, under his own name and on dates led by [[Ruby Braff]], [[Mel Powell]] and [[Charles Thompson (jazz)|Sir Charles Thompson]].
The English critic [[Stanley Dance]] coined the term "mainstream" in the 1950s, to describe the style of those swing era players who fell between the revivalist and modernist camps. Clayton was precisely one of the players to whom this appellation most applied. In December 1953, Clayton embarked on a series of jam session albums for [[Columbia Records|Columbia]],<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> which had been the idea of [[John H. Hammond|John Hammond]], though [[George Avakian]] was the principal producer. The recording sessions for these albums lasted until 1956. The tracks could last the length of an [[LP (format)|LP]] side, and it had been the new format that had given Hammond the idea, but sometimes this led to unfortunate anomalies. The title track on the ''[[Jumpin' at the Woodside (album)|Jumpin' at the Woodside]]'' album was compiled from two takes recorded four months apart, each with a completely different rhythm section. From this series also came Clayton's ''[[Jazz Spectacular]]'' album with [[Kai Winding]], [[J. J. Johnson]] and vocals by [[Frankie Laine]]. Clayton also recorded for [[Vanguard Records|Vanguard]], with Hammond producing, under his own name and on dates led by [[Ruby Braff]], [[Mel Powell]] and [[Charles Thompson (jazz)|Sir Charles Thompson]].


In 1955 he appeared in ''[[The Benny Goodman Story]]'', also working with Goodman in New York at the [[Waldorf-Astoria Hotel]] two years later. In 1958 he was at the [[Expo '58|World Fair]] in Brussels for concerts with [[Sidney Bechet]], and toured Europe the following year and annually through the 1960s. For the Swingville label (a subsidiary of [[Prestige Records]]) he co-led two albums with former Basie colleague [[Buddy Tate (musician)|Buddy Tate]] and supported [[Pee Wee Russell]] on his own outing for the label.
In 1955, he appeared in ''[[The Benny Goodman Story]]'', also working with Goodman in New York at the [[Waldorf-Astoria Hotel]] two years later. In 1958, he was at the [[Expo '58|World Fair]] in Brussels for concerts with [[Sidney Bechet]], and toured Europe the following year and annually through the 1960s. For the Swingville label (a subsidiary of [[Prestige Records]]) he co-led two albums with former Basie colleague [[Buddy Tate (musician)|Buddy Tate]] and supported [[Pee Wee Russell]] on his own outing for the label.


In 1964 he performed in Japan, Australia and [[New Zealand]] with [[Eddie Condon]], with whom he had already occasionally worked for several years. In 1965 he toured England with trombonist [[Vic Dickenson]] and blues singer [[Big Joe Turner]] accompanied by British trumpeter [[Humphrey Lyttelton]] and his Band. This group featured on ''[[Jazz 625]]'' for BBC television (later released on DVR). He made numerous visits to England thereafter and recorded three albums with Lyttelton. In order to hoodwink the [[Musicians' Union (UK)|musicians' union]] in the UK, it was necessary to claim that these albums were recorded in [[Switzerland]]. A live audio recording made on a club date with Lyttelton was released on Lyttelton's own Calligraph Records label (CLG CD 048).
In 1964, he performed in Japan, Australia and [[New Zealand]] with [[Eddie Condon]], with whom he had already occasionally worked for several years. In 1965, he toured the UK with trombonist [[Vic Dickenson]], and blues singer [[Big Joe Turner]], accompanied by British trumpeter [[Humphrey Lyttelton]] and his Band. This group featured on ''[[Jazz 625]]'' for BBC television (later released on DVR). He made numerous visits to the UK thereafter and recorded three albums with Lyttelton. In order to hoodwink the [[Musicians' Union (UK)|musicians' union]] in the UK, it was necessary to claim that these albums were recorded in Switzerland. A live audio recording made on a club date with Lyttelton, was released on Lyttelton's own Calligraph Records label (CLG CD 048).


== Last years ==
==Last years==
Shortly after appearing at the [[New Orleans]] Jazz Festival in 1969, Clayton underwent lip surgery, and had to give up playing the trumpet in 1972. He was able to resume playing in 1977 for a [[State Department]] sponsored tour of Africa, but had to permanently stop playing in 1979, though he still worked as an arranger. He began to teach at [[Hunter College]], [[City University of New York|CUNY]] from 1975–80 and again in the early eighties.
Shortly after appearing at the [[New Orleans]] Jazz Festival in 1969, Clayton underwent lip surgery and had to give up playing the trumpet in 1972.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> He was able to resume playing in 1977 for a [[State Department]] sponsored tour of Africa. He had to permanently stop playing in 1979, although he still worked as an arranger.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> He taught at [[Hunter College]], [[City University of New York|CUNY]] from 1975–80 and again in the early 1980s.


The semi-autobiography ''Buck Clayton’s Jazz World'', co-authored by Nancy Miller Elliott, first appeared in 1986. In the same year, his new Big Band debuted at the [[Brooklyn Museum]] in New York, and Clayton toured internationally with it, contributing 100 compositions to the band book.
The semi-autobiography ''Buck Clayton’s Jazz World'', co-authored by Nancy Miller Elliott, first appeared in 1986. In the same year, his new Big Band debuted at the [[Brooklyn Museum]] in New York, and Clayton toured internationally with it, contributing 100 compositions to the band book.


Buck Clayton died quietly in his sleep in 1991.
Buck Clayton died in his sleep in 1991.


==Discography==
==Discography==
⚫
===As leader===

* ''[[How Hi the Fi]]'' (Columbia, 1954)
⚫
===As leader/co-leader===
* ''Bird and Pres – The '46 Concerts Jazz at the Philharmonic'' (Verve, 1946)
⚫
* ''The Classic Swing of Buck Clayton'' (OJC, 1946)
* ''Buck Special'' (Vogue, 1949–53)
* ''[[The Huckle-Buck and Robbins' Nest]]'' (Columbia, 1954)
* ''[[The Huckle-Buck and Robbins' Nest]]'' (Columbia, 1954)
* ''[[How Hi the Fi]]'' (Columbia, 1954)
* ''[[Buck Clayton Jams Benny Goodman]]'' (Columbia, 1955)
⚫
* ''[[Buck Meets Ruby]]'' (Vanguard, 1954) with [[Ruby Braff]]
* ''[[Buck Clayton Jams Benny Goodman]]'' (Columbia, 1953-54 [1955])
* ''[[Jumpin' at the Woodside (album)|Jumpin' at the Woodside]]'' (Columbia, 1955)
* ''[[Jumpin' at the Woodside (album)|Jumpin' at the Woodside]]'' (Columbia, 1955)
* ''[[All the Cats Join In]]'' (Columbia, 1956)
* ''[[All the Cats Join In]]'' (Columbia, 1956)
⚫
* ''[[Buck Meets Ruby]]'' (Vanguard, 1957)
*''[[Harry Edison Swings Buck Clayton]]'' (Verve, 1958) with [[Harry Edison]]
* ''[[Songs for Swingers]]'' (Columbia, 1958)
* ''[[Harry Edison Swings Buck Clayton]]'' (Verve, 1958)
* ''[[Songs for Swingers]]'' (Columbia, 1959)
* ''[[Newport Jazz Festival All Stars]]'' (Atlantic, 1959 [1960]) with [[George Wein]], [[Pee Wee Russell]], [[Bud Freeman]], [[Vic Dickenson]], Champ Jones and [[Jake Hanna]]
⚫
* ''The Classic Swing of Buck Clayton'' (Riverside, 1960)
⚫
* ''[[Copenhagen Concert]]'' (SteepleChase, 1959 [1979]) with [[Jimmy Rushing]]
* ''[[Swingin' with Pee Wee]]'' (Swingville, 1960) with Pee Wee Russell
* ''[[Buck & Buddy Blow the Blues]]'' (Prestige Swingville, 1961)
⚫
* ''[[Buck & Buddy]]'' (Prestige Swingville, 1961)
* ''[[Goin' to Kansas City]]'' (Riverside, 1960) – with [[Tommy Gwaltney]]'s Kansas City 9
* ''[[Buck & Buddy]]'' (Swingville, 1960) – with [[Buddy Tate]]
* ''[[One for Buck]]'' (Columbia, 1962)
* ''[[One for Buck]]'' (Columbia, 1961)
* ''Buck Clayton's Canadian Caper'' (Discus, 1963)
* ''Just a Groove'' (Vanguard, 1973)
⚫
* ''[[Buck & Buddy Blow the Blues]]'' (Swingville, 1961) – with Buddy Tate
* ''Buck Clayton All Stars 1961'' ([[Storyville Records]], 1961)
* ''A Buck Clayton Jam Session'' (Chiaroscuro, 1974)
* ''Tenderly'' (Inner City, 1979)
⚫
* ''Buck Clayton Jam Session 1975'' (Chiaroscuro, 1975)
⚫
* ''[[Copenhagen Concert]]'' (SteepleChase, 1979)
* ''The Buck Clayton Swing Band Live from Greenwich Village'' (1990)
* ''Passport to Paradise'' (Inner City, 1979)
* ''Jam Sessions from the Vault'' (Columbia, 1988)
⚫
* ''Buck Clayton Meets Joe Turner'' (Black Lion, 1992)
* ''A Swingin' Dream'' (Stash, 1989)


===As sideman===
===As sideman===
'''With [[Count Basie]]'''
'''With [[Count Basie]]'''
* ''[[The Original American Decca Recordings]]'' (GRP, 1937-39 [1992])
* ''[[The Original American Decca Recordings]]'' (GRP, 1992)
'''With [[Coleman Hawkins]]'''
'''With [[Coleman Hawkins]]'''
* ''[[The High and Mighty Hawk]]'' (Felsted, 1958)
* ''[[The High and Mighty Hawk]]'' (Felsted, 1958)
'''With [[Frankie Laine]]'''
'''With [[Frankie Laine]]'''
* ''[[Jazz Spectacular]]'' (Columbia, 1956)
* ''[[Jazz Spectacular]]'' (Columbia, 1956)

'''With [[Mel Powell]]'''
'''With [[Mel Powell]]'''
* ''Mel Powell Septet'' (Vanguard, 1953)
* ''Mel Powell Septet'' (Vanguard, 1953)
Line 94: Line 83:
* ''[[Basie Reunion]]'' (Prestige, 1958)
* ''[[Basie Reunion]]'' (Prestige, 1958)
'''With [[Red Richards]]'''
'''With [[Red Richards]]'''
* ''In A Mellow Tone'' ([[West 54 Records]])
* ''In a Mellow Tone'' ([[West 54 Records|West 54]])
'''With [[Buddy Tate]]'''
'''With [[Buddy Tate]]'''
* ''[[Swinging Like Tate]]'' (Felsted, 1958)
* ''[[Swinging Like Tate]]'' (Felsted, 1958)
'''With [[Dicky Wells]]'''
'''With [[Dicky Wells]]'''
* ''[[Bones for the King]]'' (Felsted, 1958)
* ''[[Bones for the King]]'' (Felsted, 1958)

===As arranger===
'''With Count Basie'''
* ''[[The Count!]]'' (Clef, 1952 [1955])


== References ==
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


== External links ==
== External links ==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100614025106/http://library.umkc.edu/spec-col-collections/clayton The Buck Clayton Collection] at the Miller Nichols Library of the University of Missouri – Kansas City
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100614025106/http://library.umkc.edu/spec-col-collections/clayton The Buck Clayton Collection] at the Miller Nichols Library of the University of Missouri – Kansas City
*[http://digital.library.umsystem.edu/cgi/i/image/image-idx?c=claytonic; Digitized photographs from the Buck Clayton Collection] in the [http://digital.library.umsystem.edu/ University of Missouri Digital Library]
*[http://digital.library.umsystem.edu/cgi/i/image/image-idx?c=claytonic; Digitized photographs from the Buck Clayton Collection] in the [http://digital.library.umsystem.edu/ University of Missouri Digital Library]
* [https://www.mosaicrecords.com/buck-clayton-cbs-jam-sessions-mosaic-records/ The Complete CBS Buck Clayton Jam Sessions]


{{Buck Clayton}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


Line 126: Line 113:
[[Category:Riverside Records artists]]
[[Category:Riverside Records artists]]
[[Category:20th-century American musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American musicians]]
[[Category:American male jazz musicians]]
[[Category:The Chocolate Dandies members]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]

Latest revision as of 00:01, 10 March 2024

Buck Clayton
Clayton photographed by William Gottlieb
Clayton photographed by William Gottlieb
Background information
Birth nameWilbur Dorsey Clayton
Born(1911-11-12)November 12, 1911
Parsons, Kansas
DiedDecember 8, 1991(1991-12-08) (aged 80)
New York City
GenresSwing, jazz
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentTrumpet
LabelsColumbia, Riverside

Wilbur Dorsey "Buck" Clayton (November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1991)[1] was an American jazz trumpeter who was a member of Count Basie's orchestra. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong, first hearing the record "Confessin' That I Love You" as he passed by a shop window.[2]

Early years

[edit]

Clayton learned to play the piano from the age of six.[3] His father was an amateur musician associated with the family's local church, who was responsible for teaching his son the scales on a trumpet, which he did not take up until his teens.[4] From the age of 17, Clayton was taught the trumpet by Bob Russell, a member of George E. Lee's band. In his early twenties he was based in California, and was briefly a member of Duke Ellington's Orchestra and worked with other leaders. Clayton was also taught at this time by trumpeter Mutt Carey, who later emerged as a prominent west-coast revivalist in the 1940s. He also met Louis Armstrong while Armstrong was performing at Sebastian's Cotton Club, who taught him how to glissando on his trumpet.[5] After high school, he moved to Los Angeles.[1] He later formed a band named 14 Gentlemen from Harlem, in which he was the leader of the 14-member orchestra.[6]

From there, there are multiple sources claiming different ways in which Clayton ended up in Shanghai, China. Some claimed that Clayton was picked by Teddy Weatherford for a job at the Canidrome ballroom in the French Concession in Shanghai.[6] Others claimed he escaped the US temporarily to avoid racism.[7]

From 1934 or 1935 (depending on the sources), he was a leader of the "Harlem Gentlemen" in Shanghai. Some of the bureaucratic social groups he was with included Chiang Kai-shek's wife Soong Mei-ling and her sister Ai-ling, who were regulars at the Canidrome.[7] Clayton played a number of songs that were composed by Li Jinhui, while adopting the Chinese music scale into the American scale. Li learned a great deal from the American jazz influence brought over by Clayton.[7] A 1935 guidebook in Shanghai, listed Clayton and Teddy Weatherford as the main jazz attraction at the Canidrome. He left Shanghai before the 1937 Second Sino-Japanese War.[7] Clayton is credited for helping to close the gap between traditional Chinese music and shidaiqu/mandopop. Li is mostly remembered in China as a casualty of the Cultural Revolution.

U.S. career

[edit]

Later that year he accepted an offer from bandleader Willie Bryant in New York, but while moving east he stopped in Kansas City, Missouri and was persuaded to stay by Count Basie,[6] whose orchestra had a residency at the Reno Club. Clayton replaced Hot Lips Page. Beginning in 1937, the Count Basie orchestra was based in New York City, giving Clayton the opportunity to work as a freelance musician in studio sessions with Billie Holiday and Lester Young. Clayton left Basie after being drafted in November 1943.[1]

Post-war

[edit]

After his honorable discharge in 1946, he prepared arrangements for Count Basie, Benny Goodman and Harry James and became a member of Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic package,[1] appearing in April in a concert with Young, Coleman Hawkins and Charlie Parker, and in October participated in JATPs first national tour of the United States. He also recorded at this time for the H.R.S. label. In 1947, he was back in New York, and had a residency at the Café Society, and the following year had a reunion with Jimmy Rushing, his fellow Basie alumnus, at the Savoy Ballroom.[1] Clayton and Rushing worked together occasionally into the 1960s.[1]

From September 1949, Clayton was in Europe for nine months, leading his own band in France. Clayton recorded intermittently over the next few years for the French Vogue label, under his own name, that of clarinetist Mezz Mezzrow[1] and for one session, with pianist Earl Hines. In 1953, he was again in Europe, touring with Mezzrow; in Italy, the group was joined by Frank Sinatra.

Mainstreamer

[edit]

The English critic Stanley Dance coined the term "mainstream" in the 1950s, to describe the style of those swing era players who fell between the revivalist and modernist camps. Clayton was precisely one of the players to whom this appellation most applied. In December 1953, Clayton embarked on a series of jam session albums for Columbia,[1] which had been the idea of John Hammond, though George Avakian was the principal producer. The recording sessions for these albums lasted until 1956. The tracks could last the length of an LP side, and it had been the new format that had given Hammond the idea, but sometimes this led to unfortunate anomalies. The title track on the Jumpin' at the Woodside album was compiled from two takes recorded four months apart, each with a completely different rhythm section. From this series also came Clayton's Jazz Spectacular album with Kai Winding, J. J. Johnson and vocals by Frankie Laine. Clayton also recorded for Vanguard, with Hammond producing, under his own name and on dates led by Ruby Braff, Mel Powell and Sir Charles Thompson.

In 1955, he appeared in The Benny Goodman Story, also working with Goodman in New York at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel two years later. In 1958, he was at the World Fair in Brussels for concerts with Sidney Bechet, and toured Europe the following year and annually through the 1960s. For the Swingville label (a subsidiary of Prestige Records) he co-led two albums with former Basie colleague Buddy Tate and supported Pee Wee Russell on his own outing for the label.

In 1964, he performed in Japan, Australia and New Zealand with Eddie Condon, with whom he had already occasionally worked for several years. In 1965, he toured the UK with trombonist Vic Dickenson, and blues singer Big Joe Turner, accompanied by British trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton and his Band. This group featured on Jazz 625 for BBC television (later released on DVR). He made numerous visits to the UK thereafter and recorded three albums with Lyttelton. In order to hoodwink the musicians' union in the UK, it was necessary to claim that these albums were recorded in Switzerland. A live audio recording made on a club date with Lyttelton, was released on Lyttelton's own Calligraph Records label (CLG CD 048).

Last years

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Shortly after appearing at the New Orleans Jazz Festival in 1969, Clayton underwent lip surgery and had to give up playing the trumpet in 1972.[1] He was able to resume playing in 1977 for a State Department sponsored tour of Africa. He had to permanently stop playing in 1979, although he still worked as an arranger.[1] He taught at Hunter College, CUNY from 1975–80 and again in the early 1980s.

The semi-autobiography Buck Clayton’s Jazz World, co-authored by Nancy Miller Elliott, first appeared in 1986. In the same year, his new Big Band debuted at the Brooklyn Museum in New York, and Clayton toured internationally with it, contributing 100 compositions to the band book.

Buck Clayton died in his sleep in 1991.

Discography

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As leader

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As sideman

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With Count Basie

With Coleman Hawkins

With Frankie Laine

With Mel Powell

  • Mel Powell Septet (Vanguard, 1953)

With Paul Quinichette

With Red Richards

With Buddy Tate

With Dicky Wells

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 90. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
  2. ^ Brothers, Thomas David (February 3, 2014). Louis Armstrong, Master of Modernism (First ed.). New York: W.W. Norton. p. 384. ISBN 978-0-393-06582-4.
  3. ^ Buck Clayton & Nancy Miller Elliott Buck Clayton's Jazz World, Macmillan [Bayou Press], 1986 [1989], p. 19
  4. ^ Clayton & Miller Elliott, p. 21 -22
  5. ^ Brothers, Thomas (2014). Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. pp. 386–87. ISBN 978-0-393-06582-4.
  6. ^ a b c Yanow, Scott. [2000] (2000). Swing: Third Ear – The Essential Listening Companion. Backbeat Books publishing. ISBN 0-87930-600-9
  7. ^ a b c d Jones. Andrew F. [2001] (2001). Yellow Music: Media Culture and Colonial Modernity in the Chinese Jazz Age. Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-2694-9
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