CLARK GAYTON

CLARK GAYTON

You would be hard-pressed to identify a musician as comfortable with classical music as he is with jazz, indie rock, folk and reggae. You would be equally hard-pressed to identify a musician who can rock with Levon Helm (formerly of The Band) on weekends, fly to Istanbul for a command performance, pack the house weekly in New York at nublu, make recording sessions, wax eloquent about music history and the fundamentals of musicianship, tour with friends in support of their fledgling bands, and still find the wherewithal to record a big band piece from scratch in the remaining spare time (you must listen to the phenomenal re-recording of “Tina,Too”) … unless you happen to know Clark Gayton.

Clark Gayton was born in Seattle, Washington, January 18th, 1963. After graduating high school in 1981, Gayton received a scholarship to attend the Berklee School of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, from which he graduated in 1984. Gayton then moved to Oakland briefly before moving to New York in 1987. He was inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill on May 31, 2015. He performs regularly in NYC with the band Fatboy Kanootch which he co-founded with fellow NY Blues Hall of Fame inductee, Brian Mitchell.

Clark Gayton has toured and recorded with Bruce Springsteen, Prince, Rihanna, Brazilian Girls, Steel Pulse, Wyclef Jean, Queen Latifah, Quincy Jones, Sting, Sturgill Simpson, Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder, Bruno Mars, Bette Midler, Norah Jones, Usher, Steve Van Zandt, Beyoncé, Santana, Maxwell, The Skatalites, Bad Brains, Charles Tolliver, Lionel Hampton, Wynton Marsalis, McCoy Tyner, The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Mingus Big Band, Ted Nash, Clark Terry, Nancy Wilson, and Ray Charles, to name a few. In addition, he is a strong advocate for musicians’ rights and has been a panelist for discussions about the online and independent music industry.

Clark suffered a serious stroke in 2023. Here is the gofundme to help his recovery.