Jazz Great John Clayton Loses Home and Instruments in Wildfires – Here’s How You Can Help
The Los Angeles wildfires have been absolutely devastating. It has killed 25 people and destroyed thousands of homes. The areas hit worst have been home to many in the music community who were forced to evacuate their homes. Many had nothing left when they returned, and sadly that includes bass legend John Clayton.
His longtime friend and musical counterpart Jeff Hamilton has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help Clayton get back on his feet. On the campaign page, the bassist explains the horrendous details. He was in New York City where he was receiving the Bruce Lundvall Visionary Award from the Jazz Congress. He received a call from his daughter saying that her own home had been destroyed in the Altadena fire. He managed to stay in the moment for the award ceremony. He returned to his hotel and received another call from a neighbor informing him that his own home was gone.
“We are now in L.A. My home in Altadena is completely gone,” Clayton writes. “Also consumed by the fire are all of my instruments (yes. I know. That alone is hard to fathom), a lifetime of printed music, scores, recordings, compositions—family photos (although, thank goodness for The Cloud), every item of clothing, I’m sure you get the picture. And those are just some things related to me. My wife and children also lost so much, of course. But we have each other. I don’t care how cliche that sounds. We. Have. Each. Other.”
Adding to the heartbreak, one of the instruments in Clayton’s house, presumably, was Ray Brown’s Silvestre bass that he used for the majority of his career. Brown was a mentor to Clayton, and the bass was given to him by Brown’s widow after the jazz bass icon passed.
Please consider donating to John Clayon’s GoFundMe as well as that of his daughter Gina’s GofundMe. You can assist other musicians by donating to Musicares.org.
Our hearts go out to the Clayton family.
In his time with No Treble, Kevin has met hundreds of amazing bassists and interviewed icons like Jack Casady, Victor Wooten, Les Claypool, Marcus Miller, and more. He's a gigging bassist performing jazz in Northern Virginia and bluegrass with The Plate Scrapers up and down the East Coast. Kevin appreciates all genres of music, from R&B to metal and everything in between. Connect with Kevin on Facebook and check his performance schedule on his website.
