Gerald Clayton Trio (Record release for “Tributary Tales”)

On his new record Tributary Tales, set to release April 21 on Motéma Music, pianist and composer Gerald Clayton traces paths of myriad streams – personal, experiential, intangible – that flow into one another, creating a musical narrative greater than the sum of his individual compositions.

“I feel like the various encounters in my life are in their own way tributaries – like every trip is somehow an opportunity to discover a new type of bend in the river,” Clayton says. “The various places, people, foods and cultures I’ve been able to experience in my travels, all the musicians I gathered for this project and all the songs I’ve written – there’s a feeling of connectedness between them, even though they’re all their own separate entities.”

Clayton imbues Tributary Tales with a range of influences, including dialects and vocabulary handed down from his father, bassist and composer John Clayton and uncle, saxophonist Jeff Clayton, to contemporary expressions he heard growing up as a child of the ’80s and early ’90s. In Clayton’s unique vision, those diverse inspirations are impossible to unravel, melding together into a sound that resonates with modern styles as boldly as it evokes classic and timeless sounds.

Gerald Clayton – piano
Joe Sanders – bass
Kendrick Scott – drums