THE RAY BROWN TRIO: Life Lessons From The Bass Master

Three of the most notable members of Ray Brown’s trio over the years—Jeff Hamilton, drums; Benny Green, piano; and Geoffrey Keezer, piano—talk with John Clayton, who had a deep musical and personal relationship with him, about playing, touring and learning with the bass master. The respect, admiration and affection they continue to have for Ray since his death in 2002 is obvious. When Benny Green says that the only downside to playing with Ray is that “this is as good as I gets,” they all emphatically agree.

John Clayton, Artistic Director for Jazz

Grammy-winning bassist/composer/conductor John Clayton has written and arranged music for Diana Krall, DeeDee Bridgewater, Natalie Cole, Milt Jackson, Nancy Wilson, McCoy Tyner, Quincy Jones, George Benson, Dr. John, Regina Carter and many others.

    Among the many honors and awards he has received is a platinum record for his arrangement of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” performed by Whitney Houston during the Super Bowl in 1990. John won a Grammy as an arranger, and has eight additional nominations to his credit, most recently for his collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma on the cellist’s album Songs of Joy & Peace. Clayton has served as the musical director of several jazz festivals including the Sarasota Jazz Festival, the Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival, the Santa Fe Jazz Party, and the Vail Jazz Workshop. He is a co-founder of the Grammy-nominated Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, which he co-leads with his brother, saxophonist  Jeff Clayton, and drummer Jeff Hamilton. John and his brother Jeff also co-lead the Clayton Brothers Quintet, which has been nominated for two Grammy awards.

Jeff Hamilton, drums

Versatile drummer Jeff Hamilton brings originality to every group he performs with, and it’s one of the things that makes him constantly in demand, whether for recording, performing with his trio, or co-leading the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. In addition to his many recordings with Ray Brown, Jeff has been on nearly 200 recordings with artists such as Natalie Cole, Diana Krall, Milt Jackson, Rosemary Clooney, Barbara Streisand, Mel Torme, John Pizzarelli, and Benny Carter. Hamilton is a frequent guest of the WDR Big Band in Cologne, Germany. He also appeared in Natalie Cole’s Great Performances PBS special, Unforgettable, and an Oscar Peterson documentary, Life In The Key Of Oscar.

Benny Green, piano

Since emerging under the tutelage of Betty Carter, Art Blakey, Freddie Hubbard and Ray Brown in the early 1980s, Benny Green has become a highly regarded pianist and bandleader. Highlights from his career so far include beginning his touring life with Betty Carter for four years and realizing a lifelong dream of becoming a Jazz Messenger; In 1993 Oscar Peterson chose Benny as the first recipient of the City of Toronto’s Glen Gould International Protégé Prize in Music culminating in Oscar & Benny (1998); appearing on well over one hundred recordings, with legacy artists such as: Betty Carter (including Grammy award winner Look What I Got), Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Watson, Milt Jackson and Diana Krall. He is particularly featured in Ray Brown’s trio series of CD’s  Bass Face (1993), Don’t get Sassy (1994), Some of my best friends … (1994), Seven Steps to Heaven (1995), Super Bass (1996) and Live at Sculler’s (1996).

Geoffrey Keezer, piano

Geoffrey Keezer was holding down the piano chair for Art Blakey at 18 and touring in the company of Ray Brown, Joshua Redman, and Diana Krall in his twenties. Recently he has toured with Wayne Shorter, Dianne Reeves, and Sting, and produced and arranged three Grammy-nominated recordings with vocalist Denise Donatelli. His 2009 album Áurea was nominated for a Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album. His latest (2018) album On My Way to You is features his trio and guest vocalist, Gillian Margot. Keezer’s compositions have been commissioned by the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra and Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, and his music can be heard in films and television shows.