Vail Jazz Workshop – 12 of the best HS players in U.S.

interview with John Clayton

Only 12 slots exist at the annual Vail Jazz Workshop.  For this year’s class, a committee had to pare down a record number of applicants – 130 of them –  so that Workshop director / bassist John Clayton and his faculty could select the finalists.  Clayton visited “First Take with Lando and Chavis” to talk about his own jazz education and the climate at this year’s 10-day jazz intensive.

“These are 12 of the top high school players in the nation,” said Clayton.  ”It blows our mind how much vocabulary and insight they have at such a young age.”  

Profiles of the 2014 class at the Vail Jazz Workshop and the performance schedule is posted at www.vailjazz.org.

Music on this feature is by The Clayton Brothers, “This Ain’t Nothin’ But A Party,” from the CD The Gathering.