Greg Clayton is one of those cats who is the epitome of the consummate musician. He is one of the few regularly working Jazz Guitarists in the city, performing six nights a week, while teaching during the day at various Universities in Montreal during the academic year. His being busy is definitely an understatement!

So, if I can see Greg play any old day, why was I so excited to see him perform at the Montreal International Jazz Festival? Because, in my opinion, playing a restaurant gig or casual is just that, a working gig, filled with noisy patrons who often times find the players more irritating than entertaining and a manager whose agenda may not mesh with the creative attributes of the musicians hired. But, playing the Festival is another world entirely. It is attended by festival goers who are there specifically to see you, or in this case, Greg. There’s no agenda except for that which the musicians set forth of their own accord. And in a concert setting like this, there’s much more room to stretch out musically, which is what Greg did in abundance!

Playing alongside first call Bassist Alec Walkington, a regular musical associate for many years, Greg played a stirring 45 minute set that included some interesting song choices. Tunes like “I Should Care”, “Soul Trane”, “Serenata”, “The Lamp Is Low”, “I Wish I Knew” and “All the Way” were perfect fodder for Greg’s explorative harmonic and melodic sophistication.

Throughout each tune, Greg’s playing was superb, falling in line more with Tal Farlow and Jimmy Raney, than Kurt Rosenwinkle or John Scofield, and relying on nothing more than a Guitar ('68 Super 400 CES), an amp (Acoustic Image Clarus Amp with a Raezer's Edge Single 8 Cab), and the above mentioned harmonic skillfulness and melodic proficiency. These simple accruements allowed Greg to weave through changes with an effortless mastery utilizing both single lines and/or chord melody when desired. His beautiful chord melody intro to “I Wish I Knew” was enthralling, as was his ability to play complex double-time bop based lines over the up-tempo tunes. Suffice it to say, Greg is one helluva Jazz Guitar player.

There was even a little performance lesson from Greg as he segued from the Tadd Dameron tune “Soul Trane” into the Gordon/Warren composition “I Wish I Knew”, informing the audience that he was breaking his own rule of “never playing two songs in a row that share the same key”. I found this to be quite insightful as an example of how great players take the time to think about what songs to play and how each tune should complement or flow into one another. A great tip that I will be sure to add to my own repertoire of ideas.

One other element about Greg worth noting is his encyclopedic knowledge of tunes both in their execution as well as historic content. The majority of the songs Greg played were introduced through various anecdotal descriptions, bringing the relationship between audience and music a little closer, as well as giving concert-goers a little more “bang for their buck” so to speak.

And speaking of getting more “bang for their buck”, the audience had not only one outstanding musician to listen to but two, as Alec Walkington played the supporting musical partner brilliantly. As mentioned, Alec is a first call Upright Bass player and can walk, solo and swing with the best of them. He can literally make any musical setting sound great and when coupled with a magnificent player like Greg…well, you can probably imagine the potential for marvelous music to be created.