UT Jazz Orchestra Performs with John Clayton, 4/14

Texas Performing Arts celebrates the Butler School of Music's annual Longhorn Jazz Festival with a  performance from the UT Jazz Orchestra joined by Grammy Award-winning bassist and composer John Clayton in the intimate and acoustically rich Bates Recital Hall.

Under the direction of Professor Jeff Hellmer, the UT Jazz Orchestra is the Butler School of Music's premiere jazz ensemble. The Jazz Orchestra has performed with such luminaries as Michael Brecker, Phil Woods, Bob Brookmeyer, Conrad Herwig, and James Moody. The ensemble's repertoire also features original compositions of its members.

Grammy-winning bassist/composer/conductor John Clayton is consistently requested by the movers and shakers in the jazz industry. He has written and arranged music for Diana Krall, DeeDee Bridgewater (including her Grammy Award-winning CD "Dear Ella"), Natalie Cole, Milt Jackson, Nancy Wilson, Quincy Jones, George Benson, Dr. John, Gladys Knight, Regina Carter, Queen Latifah, and many others. Ensembles that have commissioned him include The Northwest Chamber Orchestra, The American Jazz Philharmonic, The Iceland Symphony, The Metropole Orchestra, The Carnegie Hall Big Band, The Richmond Symphony, The WDR Orchestra, and The Amsterdam Philharmonic. Clayton was awarded a platinum record for his stirring arrangement of "The Star-Spangled Banner" performed by Whitney Houston during the Super Bowl in 1990.

Clayton served as the Artistic Director of Jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 1999 through 2001. He is the current Artistic Director for the Centrum Jazz Workshop in Port Townsend, Washington, and was appointed Artistic Director for the Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival in 2006.

For more information on the UT Jazz Orchestra and John Clayton, please visit texasperformingarts.org/season/utjazz12.

For more information on the UT Butler School of Music, visit music.utexas.edu.