Gerald Clayton

Professions :

Musician

The point is to almost be child-minded, like you're discovering music for the first time, every time you play.

you music play time

I'm really open-minded, musically. The credo I ascribe to is, 'Take care of the music, and let the rest take care of itself.' Growing up, I was a sponge and soaked up everything I was exposed to.

rest music take-care care

When somebody uses a word as a genre distinction, all it really does is trigger certain experiences, or music, that somebody's been exposed to. But that's an individual thing; there's no sort of universal understanding of what jazz is.

somebody jazz music understanding

I've been boogie-boarding, off and on, since I was a kid. But I started being devoted to the cause of getting up every morning to surf, when I'm in Los Angeles, about a decade or so ago.

decade kid being morning

A lot of kids have parents who say, 'Music is hard; maybe you should come up with a Plan B.' Whenever I hear that kind of 'advice,' I think it's bad parenting. I was lucky to have a parent who assured me it was a possibility to pursue music.

me you parenting music

I think I knew I was going to be a musician for the rest of my life kind of early. When I was in third grade, I was playing in a talent show, and my dad wrote a two- or three-minute boogie-woogie piece. I played it, everybody loved it, and I was like, 'Wow, this is great.'

my-life great talent life

I think the main focus as a musician should be to play the music you love to play, and the rest is going to come naturally.

you music focus love

Some people say that if you do anything other than a straight-ahead groove, that it's not jazz. But that kind of labeling is wrong. Music is what it is; if it sounds good, it sounds good.

good you music people

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