CLAYTON CAMERON AND THE JAZZ EXPLOSION

Here's To The Messengers: A Tribute to Art Blakey

2012-05-15

When drummer, Clayton Cameron got his first steady gig (with the Kirk Stuart Trio) at a casino in Las Vegas, the casino boss wanted to hear slot machines, not drumming, so Mr. Cameron was told to play soft. Thus, for six nights a week, he played drums...with brushes only. The man became a master of drumming with the brush and created new brush techniques out of sheer boredom. The next step in his career was backing Sammy Davis Jr. in the eighties. After that, he backed Tony Bennett during his grammy-winning come-back in the nineties. About this time Mr. Cameron released “The Living Art of Brushes” video, a how-to for drum students. This was about the time he became known as “the brush master”. For his release, Here’s To The Messengers, Clayton Cameron has assembled a crack team of musicians and put together a tribute to drumming great, Art Blakey. An album of mostly originals, with an emphasis on drums (not necessarily played with brushes), this is contemporary be-bop done with a nod to classic jazz. Rebecca Ruth

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