Marcel Camargo, Gerald Clayton, & Jessica Vautor

ABOUT MARCEL CAMARGO:

Marcel Camargo was born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil to a "musical extended family;" he started learning to play guitar, percussion and sing with his uncle. At the age of 16 he moved to the United States where he graduated high school and later earned his B.A. in Ethnomusicology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His interests in school were varied but he was particularly attracted to folk music from different parts of the world; taking full advantage of being in the United States, Marcel focused his studies on America's great folk idiom, Jazz. At UCLA Marcel had the honor of studying under some of Jazz's most significant musicians - Kenny Burrell, Billy Higgins, Harold Land, Gerald and Anthony Wilson. He also spent two years studying traditional Ghanaian music under master drummer Kobla Ladzekpo, with whom he later visited Ghana.

Since his graduation from UCLA, Marcel has been making his living as a professional musician in different locations all over the Unites States and internationally. He currently resides in Los Angeles, working both as a sideman and as a frontman. His own project is called Marcel Camargo And The Brazil You Never Heard, an ongoing concert series that features Marcel's arrangements and compositions in the context of a chamber orchestra. The music the group plays is a mix of Brazilian, Classical music and Jazz. Though the pieces don't always come from Brazil, the arrangements tend to add a Brazilian twist to everything.

His main job as a sideman is playing guitar and singing back-up vocals for international pop star Michael Bublé. His other sideman work has been diverse, ranging from working with legendary Brazilian and Jazz musicians - such as with Sérgio Mendes, Bebel Gilberto, Tom Harrell, Airto Moreira, Arthur Verocai and ever rising star Gretchen Parlato - to doing collaborations with R&B/Hip Hop icons - like MeShell N'Degeocello, Seu Jorge, Flying Lotus, Chris Dave, Talib Kweli, Bilal, Pharoahe Monch (all via Miguel Atwood-Ferguson) - to touring and recording with artists like Macy Gray, Inara George (from Merrick, the Bird and the Bee), Quadron, the Watson Twins, Missy Higgins. He has also been featured as a guitarist on films like Rio 2, TV shows like "Dexter" (on Showtime) and "Supernatural" (the WB).

As an educator, Marcel has lectured on a variety of musical subjects such as music theory, musicianship, composition, songwriting, group performance and guitar. He has taught at several institutions such as the California State University Northridge (CSUN), Shepherd University in Los Angeles, the Larchmont Music Academy in New York, the French-American Lyceum Kennedy in New York City and the South Pasadena Music Conservatory in California.

ABOUT GERALD CLAYTON:

Gerald Clayton searches for honest expression in every note he plays. With harmonic curiosity and critical awareness, he develops musical narratives that unfold as a result of both deliberate searching and chance uncovering. The four-time GRAMMY-nominated pianist/composer formally began his musical journey at the prestigious Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, where he received the 2002 Presidential Scholar of the Arts Award. Continuing his scholarly pursuits, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Piano Performance at USC’s Thornton School of Music under the instruction of piano icon Billy Childs, after a year of intensive study with NEA Jazz Master Kenny Barron at The Manhattan School of Music. Clayton won second place in the 2006 Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Piano Competition.

Expansion has become part of Clayton’s artistic identity. His music is a celebration of the inherent differences in musical perspectives that promote true artistic synergy. Inclusive sensibilities have allowed him to perform and record with such distinctive artists as Diana Krall, Roy Hargrove, Dianne Reeves, Ambrose Akinmusire, Dayna Stephens, Kendrick Scott, John Scofield Ben Williams, Terell Stafford & Dick Oatts, Michael Rodriguez, Terri Lyne Carrington, Avishai Cohen, Peter Bernstein and the Clayton Brothers Quintet. Clayton also has enjoyed an extended association since early 2013, touring and recording with saxophone legend Charles Lloyd.

2016 marks his second year as Musical Director of the Monterey Jazz Festival On Tour, a project that has featured his trio along with Ravi Coltrane, Nicholas Payton, Terence Blanchard and Raul Midón on guitar and vocals.Clayton’s discography as a leader reflects his evolution as an artist. His debut recording, Two Shade (ArtistShare), earned a 2010 GRAMMY nomination for Best Improvised Jazz Solo for his arrangement of Cole Porter’s “All of You.” “Battle Circle,” his composition featured on The Clayton Brothers’ recording The New Song and Dance (ArtistShare), received a GRAMMY nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Composition in 2011. He received 2012 and 2013 GRAMMY nominations for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for Bond: The Paris Sessions (Concord) and Life Forum (Concord), his second and third album releases.

Capturing the truth in each moment’s conception of sound comes naturally to Clayton. The son of beloved bass player and composer John Clayton, he enjoyed a familial apprenticeship from an early age. Clayton honors the legacy of his father and all his musical ancestors through a commitment to artistic exploration, innovation, and reinvention.

In the 2016-17 year, Clayton turns his imaginative curiosity toward uncovering the essence of the Piedmont Blues experience and expression in early twentieth century Durham. A Duke University commission, Clayton’s evening-length composition will explore a mixed media performance that features some of the most resonating voices in contemporary music.