The Vail Series presents John Clayton & ETHEL

Experience the captivating synergy of John Clayton, a master of the bass, and the innovative ETHEL Quartet. Their collaboration weaves together the rich, resonant tones of Clayton’s bass with the quartet’s dynamic string arrangements, creating a sound that is both familiar and refreshingly new. 

John Clayton

Bassist, Composer, Arranger, and Producer, John Clayton is a busy man. He is a Grammy© winner with nine additional nominations and has written and/or recorded with artists such as Milt Jackson, Diana Krall, Paul McCartney, Regina Carter, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Gladys Knight, Queen La fah, McCoy Tyner, YoYo Ma, and Charles Aznavour, to name only a few.   

John was the principal bassist in the Amsterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (The Netherlands) from 1980–1984. In 1986, John co-founded the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and rekindled The Clayton Brothers Quintet. He works annually as the Big Band Director for The Jazz Cruise. In addition to his individual clinics and workshops, he also directs the educational components of the Vail Jazz Workshop. 

It is John’s arrangement of the “Star Spangled Banner” that helped propel Whitney Houston in her 1990 performance at the Super Bowl (the recording went pla num). His recordings with the Clayton Brothers, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Milt Jackson, Monty Alexander, Count Basie, and others are plentiful. 

“I’ve been guided by a village of musicians who helped me understand the humility that goes along with playing music at the highest level you can. Ray Brown used to tell me to ‘Learn how to play the bass!!’ Just take care of the music and it will take care of you.” — John Clayton 

ETHEL 

For nearly three decades, the GRAMMY®-winning, fearless string quartet ETHEL has been an electrifying presence on the global stage, fusing virtuosic playing and innovation with the music of our time. The ensemble is a future-focused, pioneering musical force, with a sonic legacy of evocative storytelling and heartfelt human connection, and continues to shatter preconceived boundaries across sound and style. 

Premiering over 500 works—many commissions—the quest for building artistic relationships is at ETHEL’s core. In addition to traditional recital formats, its collaborative and multimedia productions are central to ETHEL’s identity. Its thrilling performances on the world’s top stages range from Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, to Sydney Opera House, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Ravinia Festival, Holland’s TROMP, Venice Biennale, and FIAC in Mexico. Upcoming is Reimagine, an evening-length collaboration with two-time Grammy®-winning soprano Hila Plitmann and director/designer Doug Fitch, commissioning song transformations from seventeen composers in all genres with immersive visuals. 

Composer performers—Ralph Farris (viola), Kip Jones (violin), Dorothy Lawson (cello), and Corin Lee (violin)—have been commissioned by a bevy of institutions nationally, including the NEA. The quartet has worked with a kaleidoscopic array of legendary artists including Bang on a Can All-Stars, Vijay Iyer, David Byrne, Sō Percussion, Todd Rundgren, Ursula Oppens, Joe Jackson, Ron Carter, Stewart Copeland, Raven Chacon, Thomas Dolby, and Lionheart. 

Its extensive discography features albums on Cantaloupe Music, Sono Luminus, In a Circle Records, Innova, and with jazz legend Kurt Elling, the GRAMMY® Award-winning Dedicated to You on Concord. Its album The River, with Robert Mirabal, received a Native American Music Award nomination. 

Founded in 1998, ETHEL has appeared at TED Conferences, on ABC Radio Australia, SiriusXM, Conan O’Brien, Performance Today, Randy Cohen’s Person Place Thing, NPR’s Weekend Edition, and on the soundtracks of Dan in Real Life and HBO’s Deadwood. During the pandemic, ETHEL’s Met Museum Balcony Bar from Home virtual series garnered nearly 2 million views. 

Passionate educators dedicated to fostering the next generation of audiences and performers, ETHEL has innovative ongoing residencies at Denison University, Peabody Conservatory, CUNY’s Macaulay Honors College, The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Balcony Bar, and a VR/AI initiative at the University of Oklahoma.

DENISON COMMUNITY TICKETS 

Tickets are free for Denison students, faculty, and staff. 

PUBLIC TICKETS 

We share these experiences with our larger community by making a limited number of tickets available for public sale on a first come, first served basis at $20 each. 

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The Vail Series was endowed in 1979 by a generous gift from the late Mary and Foster McGaw in honor of Jeanne Vail, class of 1946. Just as it was intended to do, the Series enriches the artistic experience of the entire Denison community. Programmed creatively with the mindful pursuit of learning across traditional academic boundaries, more than 100 individual Vail Series artists have found their way to Denison’s classrooms and stages, but that doesn’t include the dozens of ensembles or full symphony orchestras that have played here over the years.