You’ve called Ray Brown a father figure. What specific things did you bring into your playing from your lessons with him?Number one, sound—he always played with clarity. And intonation was a big concern for him, and it’s a big concern for me. He wasn’t lazy about that, and he wouldn’t allow me to be lazy. He also really beat us over the head about learning scales and arpeggios. And then tunes—he wanted us to learn more and more tunes. I still do it. He never really talked to me about solos.
Your solo on “Bass Face” certainly has a Ray Brown vibe.Guilty! He never told me what to play—I just connected with his vocabulary. So much of his approach wound up in the things I do today.
Which one of Brown’s basses do you own?It’s a bass Ray purchased in the early ’60s; it’s pictured on Oscar Peterson’s We Get Requests [Verve, 1964]. I’ve been using that bass in 90 percent of my playing situations. I’m still trying to get used to it. It’s a bigger instrument, and I have to stretch my fingers a little farther. It’s a killer bass in terms of playing time and groove, but I have to work a little harder to get a singing, lyrical sound with the bow. That’s the bass I used on Brother to Brother.
Did Brown give you any particular advice for learning tunes?He liked to learn tunes from a sound source, rather than sheet music. He read like crazy, of course, but he would rather learn a tune by ear. Along with that, he insisted you learn the melody as well as the chord changes. As bass players we can get away with murder by just learning chords. Everybody makes it easier— or so they think—by reducing the music to a numerical system. I can relate to that, but you have to have balance. The more you know, the more freedom you have.
CAN BE HEARD ON
The Clayton Brothers, Brother to Brother [Artist- Share, 2008], Back in the Swing of Things [Sindrome, 2005]; the Clayton–Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Live at MCG [MCG Jazz, 2005]
CURRENTLY SPINNING
“I’m planning a project of transcribing pianist Cedar Walton. And I’m listening to a lot of the young guys: pianist Taylor Eigsty, bassist Ben Williams, vocalist Sachal Vasandani, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, and Justin Brown and Joe Sanders, a drummer and bass player team that played with my son Gerald.”
CHECK IT OUT
John has posted a PDF of “Bassist Tips” at his website, johnclaytonjazz.com.
GEAR
Bass 200-year-old u-size upright (possibly Tyrolian), plus one of Ray Brown’s basses (“most likely German”)
Strings Pirastro Evah
Bow German-style H.R. Pfretzschner
Setup Medium. “If the strings are too high you choke off the sound. If they’re too low you don’t get a sound.”
Live sound Electro-Voice RE-20 in front of Gside ƒ-hole, run through house system. “If it’s a larger room I have the engineer put only bass in my monitor wedge.”