Thanks to a John Stites Jazz Award from the John Stites Jazz Artist Organization, John Clayton played with the Lake Effect Jazz Big Band at the 2023 South Haven Jazz Festival on September 16, 2023.

Additionally, John was at an open rehearsal with the Lake Effect Jazz Big Band from 11:00 AM until 1:00 PM the same day, and then conducted a Masterclass, both of those were at the Listiak Auditorium at South Haven High School, and were open and free to the public.

Bassist, Composer, Arranger and Producer, John Clayton is a busy man. He is a Grammy^© winner with nine additional nominations and has written and/or recorded with artists such as Milt Jackson, Diana Krall, Paul McCartney, Regina Carter, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Gladys Knight, Queen Latifah, McCoy Tyner, YoYo Ma, and Charles Aznavour, to name only a few.  

John was the principal bassist in the Amsterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (The Netherlands) from 1980-1984. In 1986, John co-founded the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and rekindled The Clayton Brothers Quintet. In addition to his individual clinics and workshops, he also directs the educational components of Centrum, The Port Townsend Jazz Festival, and the Vail Jazz Workshop.  

It is John’s arrangement of the “Star Spangled Banner” that helped propel Whitney Houston in her 1990 performance at the Super Bowl (the recording went platinum). His recordings with the Clayton Brothers, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Milt Jackson, Monty Alexander, Count Basie and others are plentiful. John feels “I’ve been guided by a village of musicians who helped me understand the humility that goes along with playing music at the highest level you can. Ray Brown used to tell me to ‘Learn how to play the bass!!’ Just take care of the music and it will take care of you.”

The South Haven Jazz Festival is held at the Huron Street Pavilion in downtown South Haven, with performances by groups and combos alternating between 2 stages. Thanks to generous sponsors, attendance at the South Haven Jazz Festival is free. More information on the South Haven Jazz Festival can be found at https://southhavenjazzfestival.com/.

The John Stites Jazz Awards (JSJA) are funded by the John Stites Jazz Artist Organization. The organization funds:

• Advanced studies for emerging and established professional jazz musicians.

• Concerts, competitions and projects that expand jazz audiences and the appreciation of jazz in or near communities in the Midwest.

More information on the John Stites Jazz Awards can be found at https://www.johnstitesjazzawards.org/.