Matthew Clayton

Dr. Matthew Clayton, a Philadelphia area native, is a saxophonist, composer, community school of the arts director, educator, and scholar. Dr. Clayton has been serious about music for over 30 years, inspired to pursue a life of music by the sounds of alto saxophonist Charlie Parker at the age of 10. In high school, Dr. Clayton was a member of the National Grammy High School Jazz Band, where he played at the Village Vanguard and Birdland, and he also played at Carnegie Hall, and gigged with former Count Basie trombonist Al Grey. In addition to playing jazz, Dr. Clayton has a strong musical foundation in gospel music; he grew up in the AME church and played frequently for worship services during his high school years. After high school, Dr. Clayton enrolled at Yale University, where he earned his B.A. in Music. While at Yale, he was a visible presence on the music scene, forming Jazz Dialect, his own jazz quartet. He was also a featured performer at Yale’s Tercentennial Celebration in 2001. While at Yale, Dr. Clayton played with Yale School of Music professor, French hornist and bassist, Willie Ruff, who played in the orchestra on Miles Davis’ 1957 album Miles Ahead. After graduating from Yale, Dr. Clayton enrolled at Harvard University, where he earned his Masters and Ph.D. in Music, specializing in ethnomusicology. After completing his studies at Harvard, Dr. Clayton returned to the Philadelphia area to pursue his love of teaching and performing music. For eight years, Dr. Clayton was the Director of Jazz Combos at the University of Pennsylvania, and he has taught at the Nelly Berman School of Music since 2010. Dr. Clayton is now the Branch Director of the Kardon-Northeast Branch of Settlement Music School in Philadelphia, a position which he embarked on in 2020. Founded in 1908, Settlement Music School is one of the leading community arts schools in the country and has five branches throughout the Philadelphia area. As Director of the Northeast Branch, Dr. Clayton has the opportunity to work with students, faculty, staff, and central administration to bring music and arts education to students of all ages. This new role for Dr. Clayton has given him newfound freedom to incorporate all of the different aspects of his career into one satisfying whole. In addition, Dr. Clayton has a thriving performing and recording career. He has released two albums on his own record label, Sound Beacon LLC: On the Move (2014) and most recently Prophetic Dreams (2021). In recent years, Dr. Clayton has been found sitting in at famed NYC jazz clubs like the Blue Note, Zinc Bar, Smoke and Smalls. In Philadelphia, he has recently performed at the Free Library of Philadelphia as a part of the Mysterious Traveler All Stars, the Community Education Center in West Philadelphia, and the Lancaster Avenue Jazz Festival. Keeping his scholarly pursuits active, Dr. Clayton also teaches a Jazz History course at Princeton University. All of these elements make Dr. Clayton a unique talent on today’s music scene.

Photo Credit: Anthony Dean