Education
Miami University.
composer music educator singer university professor jazz musician
Miami University.
After studying at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio she came to New York City taking lessons from musicians such as Steve Lacy. Clayton also began to earn her own reputation as an avant-garde singer, developing her personal wordless vocabulary. Clayton"s pioneering vocal explorations placed her at the forefront of the free jazz movement and loft scene in the 1970s, where she counted among the first singers to incorporate poetry and electronics into her improvisations.
She was one of the first singers to record composer John Cage’s vocal music
Clayton"s own performance dates appear under the heading the Jay Clayton Project, while she titles her work with other esteemed vocalists Different Voices. She co-leads a trio, Outskirts, with drummer Jerry Granelli and saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom.
With more than 40 recordings to her cr, Clayton has appeared alongside such formidable artists as Bud Shank, Charlie Haden, Kirk Nurock, Stanley Cowell, Lee Konitz, Julian Priester, George Cables, Gary Bartz, Gary Peacock and Fred Hersch, as well as fellow vocalists Jeanne Lee, Lauren Newton, Urszula Dudziak, and Bobby McFerrin. In 1971, Clayton began leading her own workshops, partly together with Michelle Berne and Jeanne Lee.
From 1981 onwards, Clayton taught at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Washington for 20 years.
In addition to that tenure, Clayton taught for several semesters at New York"s City College, at several European universities (Graz (Austria), Berlin, Cologne, Munich). She developed the vocal program for the Banff Center (Canada), which she co-taught with fellow vocalist Sheila Jordan. The two are also teaching together at Vermont Jazz Workshop and at Jazz in July (at the University of Massachusetts Amherst).
Clayton has brought her masterclasses to the Manhattan School of Music and the Peabody Conservatory.
Her book, Sing Your Story: A Practical Guide for Learning and Teaching the Art of Jazz Singing, was published in 2001. In 1979, Clayton acted as the artistic director for the first ever Women in Jazz Festival (produced by Cobi Narita).
She served as a consultant for American Broadcasting Company Cable"s Women in Jazz, compiling footage for the series. Clayton received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Meet the Composer, and Chamber Music America.
Foreign a long time she was a member of the Steve Reich ensemble, performing the compositions of the minimalist composer.