Gerald Clayton was born on May 11, 1984 in Utrecht, The Netherlands and moved to the United States at a young age. He graduated from the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA) in the summer of 2002 and is currently attending the jazz studiesprogram at USC.
During his three years as a student at LACHSA many performance and learning opportunities presented themselves. Gerald was a member of the LACHSA Jazz Combo and the LACHSA Jazz Big Band, with which he opened the 2000 and 2001 Playboy Jazz Festivals. He also accompanied the Vocal Jazz Ensemble and performed with this group at the Monterey Jazz Festival in three consecutive years. In the summer of 1999 and 2000, he performed with the Latin Jazz Student All Star Band at the California Plaza and at the Greek Theatre. Gerald was the winner of the 2001 Music Center Spotlight Awards and received the Outstanding Soloist Award during the Monterey High School Jazz Competition in 2001 and 2002. In January of 2002 Gerald was given the opportunity to perform Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the LACHSA orchestra at the Luckman Auditorium. He was also selected for the Grammy High School Big Band, comprised of high school students from the entire United States. Gerald was presented with the "level 1" award by the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts (NFAA) in January of 2002. In the summer of 2002, he was named Presidential Scholar in the Arts and was asked to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. In June of 2002, Gerald performed at Steinway Hall in New York and was presented with a $15,000 scholarship award by the Music for Youth Foundation. In September of 2002, he received the Shelley Manne Award for emerging young artists from the Los Angeles Jazz Society.
Along with pursuing his studies, Gerald continues to play regularly in various venues in and outside the southern California area. He has performed a composition for piano and orchestra with the Henry Mancini Orchestra at Royce Hall (August 2002) and Disney Hall (May 2006). The piece was composed by his father, bassist and composer John Clayton, and commissioned by the Henry Mancini Institute for that purpose. Despite his young age, Gerald has performed with a long list of notable musicians that include pianists Benny Green, Mulgrew Miller, Kenny Barron, and trumpeter Clark Terry. This summer, Gerald can be heard locally at the Playboy Jazz Festival. A week at New York's Village Vanguard with The Lewis Nash Quintet will be followed by a European tour with trumpeter Roy Hargrove. Gerald will also play at Carnegie Hall with Mr. Hargrove's group. Gerald can be heard on "Back In The Swing Of Things", the latest recording by The Clayton Brothers.