Yeah, I've started dipping into Clayton's stuff - I like it a lot. I liked some of the Bond album, but I think Life Forum is more in my zone (or at least closer to stuff I'm enjoying right now). He's got a great ear for arrangements on that album, esp. with the added vocals and the horn charts. Really nice.

My only complaint - and this is a very general complaint - is that like a lot of contemporary jazz folks, his stuff seems to have this sort of soft, smooth, almost blurry sound at times. This seems esp. true of pianists right now: heavy on the sustain pedal. After a while it can feel a bit monotonous...

But that's minor. I'll definitely be playing his stuff for a while...

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~