Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Matthew Clayton was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 10, 1980. Picking up the saxophone at age ten his love of jazz was fueled playing in big bands in middle school when he played lead alto. It was during this time that he began venturing into improvisation. By high school he was a member of the National Grammy All Star High School Jazz Band, played the Village Vanguard, Birdland and Carnegie Hall in New York City. While there he also met and gigged with Grover Washington, Jr. and Al Grey, and was a featured performer at a winter jazz festival in Paris, France.
Matriculating through Yale University, Matthew went on to get his Masters and Ph.D. from Harvard University specializing in ethnomusicology, with an emphasis on the study of jazz. While at Harvard, Clayton directed the Harvard Graduate School Big Band and performed with students from the nearby Berklee College of Music, taught saxophone privately and at the Litchfield Summer Jazz Camp in Connecticut and privately while completing his studies.
Dr. Matthew Clayton is currently on the faculty of the prestigious Nelly Berman School of Music, is the Director of Jazz Combos at the University of Pennsylvania, has released his debut album “On The Move” last year and continues to perform.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Maya Nova was born on January 8, 1974 in Bulgaria. The soulful jazz vocalist earned her BA Degree from the Popular Music Department of National Music Academy in Bulgaria and pursued the live music stage with several leading jazz and funk groups.
Maya was a finalist at two Voice Competitions for young talents: “Golden Orpheus” and “Star Moments”, where she performed with the Bulgarian National Radio Big Band. After making several appearances at Sofia Jazz Fall Festival with her Jazz Quartet that led her to appear on the popular TV program “Todor Kolev’s Night Show” with the National Music Academy Big Band.
In 1998, Nova toured Europe: Denmark, Norway, England and Cypress and in 2002 she moved to Singapore. For the next 10 years she became one of the sought after jazz vocalists at concerts, festivals and clubs not only in Singapore but also in Malaysia, India, China and South Korea.
In 2009, Nova was a semi-finalist in the Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition at the 43rd Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. She released her debut album “Open” in 2010 with a concert at the Late Nite Show series at Esplanade Recital Hall, Singapore. The following year she performed with her jazz quartet at Bansko International Jazz Festival and Nisville Jazz Festival in collaboration with saxophonist Rick Margitza.
Vocalist Maya Nova moved to New York in 2012 and currently shares her artist schedule between performing and teaching.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Nigel Hitchcock was born in Rustington, England on January 4, 1971 and began to play alto sax at the age of eight. In 1982 he and his elder brother Clive joined the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and after one year he took the lead alto chair, holding it for five years. During this time the orchestra toured with different musicians such as Vic Damone, Buddy Greco and Al Martino.
By 16, Hitchcock moved to London and began his career as a session musician and also had recorded TV jingles, movie soundtracks and pop solos. 1989 saw him joining the contemporary saxophone quartet Itchy Fingers and touring throughout Europe and Southeast Asia for 18 months. While with the group he received three jazz awards: the Schlitz Awar for Rising Star; the Cleo Laine Personal Award for Best Young Musician; and the Pat Smythe Trust Award.
With that behind him Nigel left the band and returned to continue working as a pop and session musician. This has given him the opportunity to work with many artists, among other, Tom Jones, Wet Wet Wet, Beverly Craven, Ray Charles, Swing Out Sister, Joe Cocker, Cher, Robbie Williams, Claire Martin, Mark Isham, Mark Knopfler and the London Symphony Orchestra. He has also released his debut solo album “Snake Ranch Sessions”.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
James Carter was born January 3, 1969 in Detroit, Michigan and learned to play under the tutelage of Donald Washington, becoming a member of his youth jazz ensemble Bird-Trane-Sco-NOW!! As a young man, he attended Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and become the youngest faculty member at the camp. He first toured Europe (Scandinavia) with the International Jazz Band in 1985 at the age of 16.
By 1988, while at the Detroit Institute of Arts, Carter was a last-minute addition for guest artist Lester Bowie, which turned into an invitation to play with his new quintet in New York that following November at the now defunct Carlos 1 jazz club. This New York invite was pivotal in his career, putting him in musical contact with the world, and he moved to the city two years later.
James has won Down Beat magazine’s Critics and Readers Choice award for baritone saxophone several years in a row. He has performed, toured and played on albums with Lester Bowie, Julius Hemphill, Frank Lowe & the Saxemble, Kathleen Battle, the World Saxophone Quartet, Cyrus Chestnut, Wynton Marsalis, Dee Dee Bridgewater and the Mingus Big Band. On his 2000 album Chasin’ the Gypsy, he recorded with his cousin, jazz violinist Regina Carter.
An authority on vintage horns, Carter owns an extensive collection of them. He continues to be a prominent force as a performer and recording artist on the jazz scene since the late 1980s, playing saxophones, flute and clarinets.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Noah Jarrett was born on January 2, 1978 and raised between New Jersey and New York City. He began studying the electric bass at age nine, after five years of violin. His initial interest was in the many forms of rock and spent most of his days after school playing in his basement with friends.
His taste would evolve and he would lean towards jazz, reggae, Indian, African and Gnawan music while also studying the classical traditions. For nine years he primarily has studied the double bass but still plays his electric bass, ultimately graduating from the New England Conservatory. Jarrett plays in a variety of groups around New York and Boston including current group Fat Little Bastard and The InBetweens. He accompanies virtuosic Malian kora player Mamadou Diabatein a variety of music settings.
In addition, Noah plays with a 14-piece band, the Brooklyn Qawwali Party, which commemorates the late Sufi singer Nusrat Faeh Ali Khan. The group uses Pakistani qawwali melodic and propulsive rhythms as a basis for further improvisations.
Double bassist Noah Jarrett has played with John Abercrombie, George Garzone, Bob Gulotti, Bill Goodwin and numberous other New York City musicians. He continues to perform and record.
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