"Jim is the new Vince Guaraldi!"-Bill Summers (Herbie Hancock's Headhunters)

announces the new releaseJim Clayton

Lenny Jumps In

Pianist/composer Jim Clayton isn’t yet a household nameto jazz fans, but that is changing. The Canadian co-ledthe award-winning Clayton/Scott Group and spent adecade as a music director with Emmy-winning theatrecompany The Second City. But his major break camefrom his 2014 CD, Songs My Daughter Knows, whichbenefited from inspired arrangements and great NewOrleans collaborators (including drummer Jason Marsalisand percussionist Bill Summers). The album included thesongs that marked his first year with his daughter Lenny(now age five), and ranged from reinvented Muppet tunesto the theme from The West Wing. Reviews of it were fullof high praise: All About Jazz wrote, “Clayton andcompany do an outstanding job with these musicalmakeovers," while DownBeat gave it 3½ stars, calling it“warm” and “soulful.”

Clayton stayed home in Toronto to record Lenny JumpsIn, which features his old friend (and Clayton/Scott Grouppartner) guitarist Andrew Scott, bassist Steve Lucas,drummer David Peters, and percussionist Paul Ormandy.All know his daughter well, and Lenny continues toinspire him to create new songs and arrangements.Though there are some familiar songs, Clayton primarilyfocused on his own recent compositions. “I hadn’tcomposed regularly since my Clayton/Scott Group days,but the great response to the one original (Little Leo) onSongs My Daughter Knows got me writing again. As itturns out, it’s incredibly satisfying."

Clayton penned eight of the eleven songs heard on thisrelease. The Magical Land of O.Z. is a salute to NewOrleans’ eclectic public radio station WWOZ-FM, and

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TRACKS:1. Louisiana Cat Club (4:19)2. Cheek To Cheek (4:27)3. Riverwalk (4:04)4. Magical Land Of O.Z. (5:22)5. Lenny Jumps In (2:38)6. Miss Kelly's House (4:34)7. The DeRozan Effect (2:53)8. Tennessee Waltz (3:57)9. (Don't Stop For) Coffee And Donuts (4:41)10. Walter, Weaver Of Men (2:29)11. Return To Pooh Corner (5:03)

MUSIC PROMOTION:Lisa Reedy Promotions(775) 826.0755lisa@jazzpromotion.comwww.jazzpromotion.com

LABEL & ARTIST:Clay-Tone RecordsJim Clayton(416) 919-4990jim@jimclaytonjazz.com

husband, the late virtuoso Oscar Peterson, Claytonwas invited by the family to contribute to At HomeWith Oscar, a video series in which the likes ofMakoto Ozone and Monty Alexander perform onPeterson’s own Bösendorfer grand piano in hishome studio. Clayton recorded stunninginterpretations of Rainbow Connection andPeterson’s Love Ballade, both of which can beviewed online.

Riverwalk was inspired by the Spanish Plaza at thefoot of Canal Street in New Orleans, which boaststhe largest of the area’s many decorative waterfountains. This upbeat tune suggests a beamingLenny playing in the spray of the fountain on asunny day. (Don’t Stop For) Coffee And Donuts,named for a running gag ‘warning’ by Lenny’sschool music teacher, is another funky blues thatsettles into a hip groove.

Every musician faces the challenge of bringing newlife to old chestnuts. Clayton’s mid-tempo setting ofCheek to Cheek swings effortlessly, while hisrendition of the bittersweet ballad Tennessee Waltzhas a country air with his subdued piano andScott’s poignant guitar. Very few musicians havediscovered the potential within Kenny Loggins’Return to Pooh Corner (an updated version of hisown House at Pooh Corner) but Clayton proves thata strong melody can be easily recast in a jazzsetting with outstanding results.

Give Lenny Jumps In a spin and you’ll find yourselfsharing the joy of Jim Clayton’s music.

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as a nod to their wide variety of styles, the trackbegins as a bossa nova, but switches to a coolshuffle just as the bossa fades. His lively LennyLeaps In, like Lester Young’s Lester Leaps In, is aRhythm-changes tune (in the bebop tradition ofwriting a new melody over the chord progression ofGershwin’s I Got Rhythm) and showcases Scott’sfluid electric guitar and Clayton’s swinging piano.The DeRozan Effect is named for Lenny’s favoritebasketball player, DeMar DeRozan of the TorontoRaptors, and the train-beat brushwork of DavidPeters gives the tune its athletic drive.

Louisiana Cat Club has a funky New Orleans vibe,and was inspired by a French Quarter rug-weavingshop that houses a number of rescue cats. Claytonand his daughter are regular visitors during theirvisits to the Crescent City, and its friendlyatmosphere is beautifully conveyed in this charming,laid-back 12/8 blues. “I asked the guys to try agroove like Donald Fagen’s Ruby Baby,” anotherrecording with a personal story for Clayton: aftertranscribing the piano solo for a class assignment atHumber College, he bonded with the instructor overa mutual love of all things Fagen. That teacher’srecommendation led to Jim’s long-term gig with TheSecond City, where he met his future wife, jazzphotographer Tracey Nolan.

The Clayton family’s friendship with Kelly Petersonand her daughter Céline led the pianist to pen thewarm ballad Miss Kelly’s House, where they havebeen guests on numerous occasions. Although henever had a chance to meet Kelly’s famous

Praise for 2014's Songs My Daughter Knows...

DownBeat Magazine:"Like so much music recorded in New Orleans, these songs feelgood...warm and happy...tender and soulful." (3½ stars)

BlogCritics.com:"Nothing short of a delight...straight ahead jazz played withjoyful intelligence."

Marc Myers, JazzWax.com:"Jim plays Neal Hefti's Flight of the Foo Birds with enormousskip and swing."

CriticalJazz.com:"Ingenious...his formidable 4tet bring melody back from the jazzwitness protection program."